advertisement

Girls volleyball: Libertyville continues its success against Carmel

After losing its first two matches against Libertyville early in the season, visiting Carmel Catholic was hoping that the third time would be the charm against the Wildcats Tuesday night in nonconference girls volleyball play.

But Libertyville (21-6) shocked the Corsairs by storming ahead to a 20-5 lead before winning the first set 25-16. Carmel (24-9) played the Wildcats a bit tougher in the second set, but it could not prevent Libertyville from posting a 25-18 victory to win the match.

Seven service points by senior Claire Evans (9 digs, 8 kills, 5 aces) helped stake the Wildcats to the 20-5 lead in the first set before a block by teammate Ella Sazy closed out the 25-16 win.

"I thought given that it was a rivalry game we started off strong from start to finish in both sets," said Libertyville coach Greg Loika, whose team will be a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Class 4A postseason. "She (Evans) had an excellent defensive game, she had a great all-around game, and she passed better than anyone so I thought that was awesome."

Two service points by Carmel's Susan Trznadel kept the Corsairs in striking distance trailing 15-12 in the second set. But a kill by Elle Knight (5 kills) and a dink shot by Evans boosted the lead to 21-16.

Then Charlie Fleegle (4 digs) had 3 service points to make the score 24-16. A kill by Emmi Zovistoski (4 kills) put the finishing touches on the impressive victory.

The Wildcats also got strong support from Sydney Meyer (3 blocks, 2 kills), Avery Maddux (3 kills), Brynne Colton (10 assists, 4 digs), Romy Fleegle (7 digs), and Saly Lichter (5 assists).

"I think just having lots of energy and trusting each other helped us push through and keep up during that first set," said Evans. "I'm very happy, and I think that once we got a point we would try to build momentum off of that."

The Corsairs got 5 kills from Peyton Teipel while Liv Johnson had 4 kills. The Wildcats' Vivian Lang had 2 blocks while teammate Mairead Fleming had 2 assists.

"We just came out flat, that happens, and we weren't executing well," said Carmel coach Dave Pazely, whose team beat Prospect in two sets on Monday night. "They (Libertyville) play fast, they play clean, they're scrappy on defense, and they're going to make you earn your points."