Girls volleyball Lake County notes: Vernon Hills stays in thick of CSL race; Carmel aims for long postseason run

The Vernon Hills girls volleyball team has momentum on its side.

The Cougars recorded an important Central Suburban North win over Highland Park earlier this week that keeps them in the hunt for the conference title. That victory followed a tournament championship at Woodstock last weekend.

Vernon Hills (15-11) sits at 4-1 in CSL North action in second place behind Niles West (5-0). The Cougars meet Niles West again in Niles on Oct. 16.

“We have hopefully found our rhythm and identity through playing some fun and ‘means business’ volleyball, and are focused on finishing conference play strong while building confidence heading into the postseason,” Vernon Hills coach Max Spiglanin said.

Leading the charge for Spiglanin’s squad are junior Kiersten Cieslinski (team-high 220 kills to go with 110 digs and 34 aces), freshman Aria Shah (team-best 37 aces, 237 assists), junior Mya Beitzel (team-high 34 blocks, 78 kills) and junior Allyson Koetz (leads team in passing and digs with 176).

Cieslinski had 10 kills and hit .429 in the Highland Park win. “Kiersten has been dominant offensively with her strong attack and serve, consistently producing in big moments and providing energy and confidence for this young group,” Spiglanin noted.

Spiglanin added senior defensive specialist-libero Olivia Bush has stepped up defensively “and continues to be dangerous behind the service line, while serving as a strong leader on and off the court,” he said.

Carmel Catholic update: The Corsairs also can lay claim to being one of the hottest teams in the county right now, sporting a 12-2 mark over their last 14 matches. Carmel had won 11 in a row before playing DePaul College Prep twice in the Lake Forest tournament where it ended up taking second place. Carmel, which has its sights set on winning a sectional title for the first time in 14 years, started the week a robust 23-7 and 2-2 in East Suburban Catholic action.

Sophomore outside Scarlett Olszowka leads the team in kills (144), while senior setter Suzy Trznadel leads the way in aces (61) and freshman middle Liv Johnson is tops in blocks (68). Sophomore setter Charlotte Shepherd has 406 assists, while sophomore libero Rebeca Arreola has a team-high 347 assists.

Shepherd and sophomore outside Brailyn Albanese were Lake Forest all-tournament selections.

Carmel coach David Pazely, who projects his squad to get a No. 1 sub-sectional postseason seed in Class 3A, noted Albanese set 3 rotations and hit right side the other three as a freshman on the JV team last year and started this year on the varsity doing the same thing due to another player being injury. She then shifted to right-side hitting duties before another injury sent Albanese to the outside.

“Brailyn continues to improve week after week as an outside hitter,” Pazely said. “Her versatility and work ethic have been instrumental in our 11-match winning streak. She continues to push this team to new heights.”

Shepherd, Pazely noted, has been one of the team’s most consistent performers since returning from an early-season injury. “Charlotte’s distribution as a setter is running our offense quickly and aggressively,” he said. “Her defense, both back row and blocking, has been improving and when we need to earn a kill on second contact, she has been outstanding (Shepherd had 6 kills in one of the Lake Forest matches). Charlotte has this team firing on all cylinders. She runs a balanced offense so defenders can’t set up to try and stop any one player. She can be very deceptive, which opens seams for pin hitters to exploit. She can also make great plays at the net to save a tight pass and still connect with her hitters for a kill. When Charlotte is in rhythm, we are tough to beat.”

Grant update: Sophomore Kara Schubert (32 blocks) and classmate Siena Enters are excelling for the Bulldogs (7-13, 3-2 Northern Lake County to start the week).

“Kara and Siena help our offense by putting the ball down in much-needed situations and are reliable defensive players who are hard to get past,” Grant coach JP Gizowski said.

Gizowski added his young team continues to make progress. “After each game, we are learning and gaining new experiences to help them for their high school volleyball careers,” he said.

Grayslake North update: Knights coach Nikki Kirchway said setters Reese Oatsvall (91 assists) and Jane Pritchard (95 assists) have stepped it up. “We have had some players missing due to injuries and sickness and Reese has stepped into hitting for us the last few matches,” she explained. “She is a very versatile player whose energy is contagious on and off the court. Jane out-hustles everyone and runs the court so well. Her variety in sets helps to keep our offense successful coupled with her tough serves.”

Other team statistical leaders for the Knights (5-14, 2-3 Northern Lake County) include Grace Watschke (64 kills), Lucy Roscoe (139 digs), Abby Dorich (23 aces) and Zuri Ongalo (19 blocks).

“Our aggressive serving, solid serve-receive and incredible defense have kept us competitive in matches,” Kirchway said. “We are turning the corner to get more wins in the future.”

Lakes update: The Eagles (20-7 overall) started the week sitting at 5-0 in Northern Lake County Conference play with expected very competitive contests against Grant and Grayslake Central remaining on the docket, coach Sarah Yeager noted.

Addison Sundquist, who leads the team with 149 kills, was an all-tournament pick at the recent Lake Forest invitational. Lovelyn Zamora leads Lakes with 222 digs, while Sammi Madsen has a team-high 356 assists.

“Addison continues to lead us offensively,” Yeager said. “Her consistency and ability to score in key moments make her a vital part of our success.”

Yeager added on the defensive side, both Brynn Skinner and Zamora “have made major contributions,” she said. “Their quick reads and relentless pursuit of the ball have helped keep us strong in long rallies.”

Mundelein update: The Mustangs recently enjoyed a 5-match winning streak with victories against Wauconda, Warren Township, Highland Park, Lake Forest and Lakes. Mundelein started the week 14-12 overall and 2-2 in North Suburban action.

“With 9 matches left in the regular season, we have continually improved to compete at a high level heading into the postseason,” Mundelein coach Jeff Blezien said.

Bella Snow and Sophia Mitry were all-tournament selections at Lake Forest. Also of note, Blezien pointed out that Paige Prochnow racked up an impressive 11 service aces against Warren. That total ranks 24th on the IHSA girls volleyball all-time list for most aces in a single match.

Blezien said Prochnow and Tanner Leedle “have both done an amazing job being more aggressive on the attack and limiting their errors,” he said.

Mundelein also has received boosts at different points in the season from the likes of freshman Donnelley Wyss, who at one point was getting 10 sets a match, but putting down 4-6 kills and limiting errors, Blezien explained, as well as junior Caitlyn Pyke, who averaged double-digit digs during one stretch and was serving more consistently from the line. Speaking of serving, Blezien said Allison Tableman has made huge strides on that front where she started the season serving at a 75% clip, but during one five-match stretch, jacked that up to 96% with 7 aces against only 2 service errors.

Stevenson update: Abby Inman (198 kills) recently earned all-tournament honors at the Glenbrook North invitational. Inman had a season-high 17 kills with only 2 errors in a recent match against York.

“Abby is getting high-volume kills and is hitting at a high percentage,” Stevenson coach Tim Crow said.

The Patriots started the week 13-10 and 3-1 in North Suburban action with three league contests to play.

“We are still looking to get and stay healthy,” Crow said. “We should look like a different team by the end of the week once everyone gets up to speed.”