Lake County roundup
Libertyville’s girls volleyball team ousted a familiar foe in its state tournament opener Tuesday night.
Behind the strong setting of junior Cassie Ostmeyer (16 assists) and sophomore Lizzie Apgar (9 assists), the third-seeded Wildcats defeated North Suburban Lake Division rival Mundelein 25-18, 25-16 in a Class 4A regional semifinal at Lake Zurich.
Taylor Zant led Libertyville’s attack with 12 kills, while Julia Smagacz and Rhiannon Prentiss added 6 apiece. Prentiss also had 6 digs, and Kristen Webb led the way with 13. Alex Basler chipped in 3 blocks and 3 kills, and Jordan Bauer contributed 2 blocks and 2 kills.
Libertyville faces No. 7 Lake Zurich for the regional title Thursday.
No. 14 Mundelein, which ended its season at 15-21, was led by Courtney Perreault’s 8 kills and 2 aces Yasmeen Johnson and Ashley Dolin had 3 kills apiece, while Madi Wilcox set 46 of 46 with 16 assists.
Lake Zurich d Glenbrook South: At Lake Zurich, Layne Self’s 9 kills and 2 aces, and Kristen Walding’s 20 assists helped lead the seventh-seeded Bears past the No. 11 Titans 25-15, 25-13.
Mallory Parsons added 7 kills for Lake Zurich, which hosts Libertyville for the regional championship Thursday.
Lakes d. Antioch: At Harvard, the crosstown rivals didn’t disappoint in their Class 3A regional semifinal. The second-seeded Eagles prevailed 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, as Emily Aigner had 14 kills and 9 digs, while Sarah Horner hammered 12 kills, chalked 8 digs and served 18 of 19 with 3 aces.
Sam Falco had 4 kills and 6 blocks for Antioch (20-16), while Abbi McIlhany also put down 4 kills. Marissa Grant dished out 13 assists, recorded 3 kills and chalked 12 digs. Amanda Spera contributed 3 kills and 4 blocks for the Sequoits. Reagan Jordan and McIlhany had 11 and 10 digs, respectively.
“We played hard. We just couldn’t finish plays,” Antioch coach Glen Heitman said. “It was a hard end to the season, but I am proud of the way we came together as a team. The three seniors had good careers at Antioch, and the juniors and sophomores have great volleyball futures ahead of them. I would like to thank my assistants and the parents for their support all season.”
Lakes also got big contributions from Shannon Grant: (4 kills, 10 digs, 18-of-18 serving, 4 aces), Abbi Mehnert (5 kills), Alex Silvola (4 kills, 4 assists), Maddie Demo (3 kills, 25 assists, 11 digs) and Stephanie Reed (4-of-5 serving, 3 digs).
Lakes will play in Thursday’s 6 p.m. regional final against top-seeded Richmond-Burton, which outlasted No. 4 Johnsburg 25-16, 16-25, 25-10.
Grayslake North d. McHenry: At Grayslake North, the surprising Knights ousted the top seed with a 25-23, 25-23 win behind Kelsey Klausner’s 6 kills.
No. 4 Grayslake North (13-24) also received 5 kills and 2 aces from Melanie Aikin and 16 assists and 8 digs from Lisa Lowry.
Warren d. Zion-Benton: At Grayslake North, the Blue Devils played without injured star Paige Jespersen but still won the Class 4A regional semifinal, as Jaime Dickinson slammed 8 kills in a 25-23, 25-21 victory.
No. 2 Warren (19-17), which will play No. 4 Grayslake North in Thursday’s 6 p.m. regional final, also received 5 kills, 5 digs and 2 blocks from Stephanie Karlovicks. Rachel Ziegler dished out 9 assists and added 3 kills and 2 blocks for the Blue Devils. Dickinson hit 12 of 13 and recorded 9 digs. Kendall Farmer had 4 blocks and 2 kills.
Stevenson d. Lake Forest: At Lake Forest, the top-seeded Patriots disposed of the No. 18 seed and host school 25-22, 25-15, as Khaila Donaldson and Liza Pflugradt each slammed 7 kills.
Alexa Bykowski served 4 aces and lofted 9 assists for Stevenson (33-3), which advanced to Thursday’s 6 p.m. regional final. Jenna Radtke had 4 kills and 3 solo blocks for the Patriots, while Donaldson and Elizabeth Shancer each had 10 digs.
Wauconda d. Regina Dominican: At North Chicago, the top-seeded Bulldogs had to fight hard to win their Class 3A regional semifinal, 25-20, 25-22.
Megan Tallman and Susan Karhoff each had 9 kills and 9 assists for Wauconda, while Karhoff and freshman Ashley Anderson each totaled 11 digs. Tallman added 2 aces and 2 blocks, as the Bulldogs advanced to Thursday’s regional final against Grayslake Central.
Grayslake Central d. Vernon Hills: At North Chicago, Gabi Casper had 6 kills and 13 digs, as the second-seeded Rams captured a 25-18, 25-18 win over the No. 3 Cougars, who saw senior Shannon Nugent become their all-time kills leader.
Nugent had 6 kills on 21-of-23 hitting, while Jenn Claussen also had 6 kills for Vernon Hills (13-23). Mia Polisky had five. Nugent also was 11 of 12 on serve receive and registered a team-best 9 digs.
Grayslake Central also received 3 kills apiece from Alexandria Dahlstrom, Taylor O’Neil and Allie Daul. Hannah Thomas served 3 aces, and Dahlstrom delivered a pair.