Girls volleyball: Libertyville takes Stevenson’s best shot, stays perfect
Elle Knight had nine kills, four blocks and, unofficially, at least one shove absorbed Wednesday night.
Relax.
The Libertyville senior outside hitter was in no danger.
Junior middle hitter Vivian Lang playfully delivered the shove after one of Knight’s first-set kills against Stevenson, a rather physical way of congratulating the Rhode Island volleyball commit during a night when the undefeated Wildcats had plenty to celebrate.
Knight smiled.
Then Libertyville kept swinging.
The Wildcats turned an 8-8 first-set tie into a runaway and survived a considerably more tense second set to defeat host Stevenson 25-14, 28-26 in a North Suburban Conference match in Lincolnshire.
Libertyville improved to 24-0 overall and 4-0 in the NSC. Stevenson, which repeatedly threatened to force a third set, fell to 20-5, 2-2.
“We were excited to come into this place — big gym, big crowd, playoff atmosphere,” Libertyville coach Greg Loika said. “Stevenson is our rival and a very good opponent.”
Libertyville looked especially good after the opener reached 8-8.
The Wildcats closed on a 17-6 run, getting production from seemingly everywhere. Senior Carsen Sesi finished with 10 kills, junior Emmi Zovistoski added six, and Lang contributed three blocks.
Knight supplied the night's most acrobatic moment.
With Libertyville ahead 13-10 in the first set, she leaned backward and somehow hammered a kill while airborne, a volleyball version of a scissors-kick overhead in tennis.
Different net.
Same wow.
“She has a great mind for the game,” Loika said. “Great swing, too.”
Libertyville libero Charlie Fleegle also provided a highlight, digging a ball inches from the hardwood during a point the Wildcats eventually won. She finished with 21 digs.
Stevenson made Libertyville work considerably harder in the second set.
Sesi struck three kills in a five-point span, but the Patriots refused to disappear. The set was tied at 10, 11, 23, 24, 25 and 26.
Stevenson senior Abigail Inman, who finished with 10 kills, delivered consecutive kills for the Patriots’ 22nd and 23rd points. Sophomore Lydia Fakhoury added seven kills.
“Clutch,” Stevenson coach Tim Crow said of Fakhoury. “She played tough, made some huge plays, point-wise.”
Knight’s kill gave Libertyville a 24-23 lead and prompted a clenched right fist.
Still, Stevenson kept coming.
At 26-26, Libertyville senior setter Mairead Fleming and Fleegle made superb digs seconds apart, rescuing balls that looked destined for the floor. The Wildcats eventually won the point for a 27-26 lead, then finished the match.
Crow called Libertyville “the most complete team we’ve faced this season,” praising the Wildcats’ block and floor defense.
“Our effort was awesome all night,” Crow added. “We’re very good.”
So is Libertyville, which is chasing the best start in program history — 36-0 in 1993.
“We prepared so well for this,” Knight said. “A win like this, in this atmosphere, is a great way to prepare for the playoffs.”
And for Knight, apparently, so is receiving — and surviving — the occasional congratulatory shove.