Girls volleyball: Fremd sweeps Libertyville, earns third trip to state
Fremd coach Pete Gavin called a timeout after Libertyville finished a 17-9 run to tie the second set of Monday’s Class 4A DeKalb supersectional at 19-all.
The Vikings, who won the first set 25-16, had jumped out to 10-2 lead and appeared to be on the verge of handily winning the second set and the match.
Gavin told his squad to exhale and concentrate on how Fremd could regain control.
The refocused Vikings returned to the court and reclaimed the momentum to win the set 25-22 and punch their ticket for the state tournament this weekend in Normal.
Fremd (31-7) will squared off against Marist (34-5) in the second Class 4A semifinal match on Friday. Marist took third place in last year’s 4A state tournament
“Honestly, we just talked a lot about mental toughness, taking time to take that deep breath, to center yourself, to talk about what we need to do to be successful and talk about what we're going to do to stop them,” Gavin said about the huddle. “And trying to keep it simple for them rather than letting their minds race.”
After the timeout, back-to-back kills by Emily Karmazin and Harper Neil (3 kills, 2 aces and 15 digs) and a Libertyville hitting error put the Vikings up 22-19. A tip kill by Wildcat freshman Brynne Colton and senior Clair Evans’ ninth kill of the match narrowed the margin to one, 22-21.
Two more Libertyville (32-8) miscues put the contest at match point, 24-21. The Wildcats scored once more time before a Marcelina Cebula kill clinched the supersectional plaque for Fremd.
The senior recalled last year’s supersectional.
“It‘s crazy because last year this was the point where our team lost. I'm so happy for everybody,” Cebula said. “I'm so excited. This is an amazing group of girls, and I can't wait to go downstate with them.”
Fremd’s successful blocking contributed to the Viking’s 10-2 start in the second set. Three of the Vikings’ eight points came on stops by Karmazin, Akshara Jay and Zoey Bending. Jay led the Vikings with six kills.
“I think our blocking has gone super better, especially in the last couple of practices,” Jay said. “And it's definitely something that we're emphasizing.”
“The second set wasn't a great start, but this team showed that they had a lot of fight in them,” Libertyville coach Greg Loika said. “I think ultimately at the end, our mistakes proved to be a bit too much. Fremd is a strong team and they're here for a reason and they were the better team tonight.”
After a Libertyville strike by Emerson Zovistoski (6 kills) tied the first set at 1-1, Fremd gradually pulled away.
“Our pass and serve was out of sorts a little bit (in the first set). We missed too many swings when we got into the rally,” Loika said. “And unforced errors against a team like them is sort of a death knell.”
Junior Charlie Fleegle notched 14 digs, 3 aces and 5 assists for the Wildcats.