Heinz a hit as Vernon Hills outscores Lakes

Just for fun, let's compare those powerful hitters from both Lakes' and Vernon Hills' boys volleyball teams.

That's Dalton Solbrig, or D-Train, for the Eagles of Lakes. And that's Michael Heinz for Vernon Hills.

"Dalton is a very creative hitter,'' Heinz said. "He's able to hit it to the 10-foot line and he can hit around the setter."

Heinz may have dished out some compliments on Wednesday night but he was also handing out some punishment. His 12 kills were key in Vernon Hills' 25-18, 25-14 NSC win.

"Mike was very tough today,'' said Vernon Hills coach Chris Curry. "With Max (Spiglanin) in the middle, Mike took advantage of that."

Curry also noted his team made plans for the very tall and very powerful Solbrig.

"He's very tough to defend,'' Curry said. "We scouted them and knew what kind of player they had."

The Eagles never led in either set, and that kind of bothered Lakes coach Katie Cheek. She noted in preparation for the upcoming Lake County Tournament, the opposing coaches listed her Eagles seventh in the field of 18 teams.

"So we have to play like a top team,'' Cheek said. "Vernon Hills is still one of the best teams in the count so I'm glad we battled back."

Clearly the first set was the most competitive. The opening set was knotted at 12-12. The Cougars (5-5, 2-0) surged ahead aided by kills from Heinz and Lem Turner to open up a working margin. Sophomore Jared Bennett served the final 2 points of the set and finished it with an ace.

"I had a good toss tonight,'' Bennett said. "Sometimes it hit my wrist."

Bennett also ran the 5-1 offense and finished with 19 assists. He also paced the team in digs (7).

Bennett also chimed in on the heavy hitter conversation and complimented Heinz.

"Michael is a great hitter,'' Bennett said. "He really puts it down."

Heinz applauded the sophomore setter as well.

"Jared is playing pretty well,'' Heinz said. "And our passing was really sound. Dylan (DeBoer) and Max (Spiglanin) made good passes."

Bennett began the serving for set two. He notched a pair of aces and used 2 Heinz kills to build up an 8-0 lead. In his next serving turn, he picked up 3 more points on kills from Heinz and Turner, and a Tyler Smith block kill helped build a 17-9 lead.

"When our serves are in, we are tough,'' Curry said.

Lakes (7-9, 1-2) had 8 kills and 2 blocks from Solbrig. Sophomore setter Colton Jewell had 12 assists.

"Colton is a three-sport athlete,'' Cheek said. "He always gives 100 percent."

Vernon Hills had help from Spiglanin (5 kills, 3 blocks) and Turner (4 kills, 2 blocks). Bennett's 4 aces led the Cougars.