Girls volleyball: Libertyille hands NSC co-champion Warren its first conference loss
Makenzie Tyrrell was all set to dig into a tasty post-match cupcake Wednesday evening.
It was even sweeter for the Libertyville senior setter after beating an opponent that was hardly a proverbial cupcake. The 25-17, 25-14 victory was over visiting Warren, which claimed a share of its first North Suburban Conference girls volleyball title since 1997.
“That was great,” Tyrrell said. “All aspects of the team were connected tonight. We knew they would be one of the tougher teams in our conference, but we got a little bit of a lead, we stuck to our game plan and it worked.”
The icing Libertyville (22-12, 5-2) junior middle hitter Avery Maddux was doing to her left ankle felt good, too. Especially since she had 4 kills and 4 blocks in her first action in six weeks.
“We had a lot of high energy and it was really amazing,” Maddux said. “This was a really good one to have. We had a lot of energy with the big crowd and we feel really confident going into the state tournament.”
Tyrrell spread her 16 assists around and also had 2 kills. Claire Evans and Elle Knight had 5 kills and 2 blocks apiece, Molly Lyon had 3 kills and Grace Coughlin had a kill and 2 blocks.
Sophomore libero Charlie Fleegle had 9 digs, 3 aces and 2 assists and Ella Obourn had an ace and 3 digs as the only time Libertyville trailed was 1-0 in the second set.
“Our game plan was to get them moving and that’s what we did,” Maddux said.
“We passed well and terminated the ball with high efficiency,” said Libertyville coach Greg Loika. “That was probably about as complete of a match as we’ve played since mid-September in all facets. It was a dominant performance on our side and they’re a good team.”
The only ties for Warren (20-15, 6-1) were at 1-1 in both sets. Senior outside hitter Lauren Schilz had 12 kills.
“It wasn’t our best night but they gave it everything they’ve got,” said Warren coach Yun Chen. “They’re a really good team. A solid team.”
But Chun focused on what Schilz and starters Taylor Coombes, Shayla Ray, Lyla Christensen, Megan Weekes and Alyse Murphy-Spiteri and libero Madelyn Ide accomplished. Warren’s rebound from a 5-9 start included a three-set win two weeks ago over NSC co-champion Stevenson (20-14, 6-1), which beat Lake Zurich in two sets Wednesday.
“I’m proud and I told them they’re history-makers,” Chen said. “To be history-makers you have to take little steps and continue to work and grow. They’ll be history-makers in their lives and this is a little part of it.”
Warren is a No. 2 seed and Libertyville is a No. 1 seed in the McHenry Class 4A subsectional. Regional play starts next week.
“We’re all smiling and everyone is in a good mood,” Tyrrell said of the Wildcats’ late-season surge. “We’re always giving each other high-fives and conversing and not staying silent. We’ve created bonds on and off the court.”