Girls volleyball: Milejczyk, Stevenson take control against Z-B
Isabella Milejczyk slammed 11 kills, notched 10 digs and served 2 aces, and Stevenson's girls volleyball team beat No. 20 Zion-Benton 25-11, 25-15 in the Class 4A Zion-Benton regional semifinals Tuesday night.
Jori Radtke added 7 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces and 2 solo blocks for Stevenson (28-8), which will play No. 7 Palatine for the regional championship at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Zoe Graflund had 4 kills for the Patriots, while Jordyn Taborek and Corissa Kurth each contributed three. Kurth dished out 19 assists on 41-of-42 setting and also delivered 2 aces. Morgan Berland tallied 11 digs.
Palatine d. Grant: At Zion-Benton, the 10th-seeded Bulldogs fell 25-21, 25-22 in the Class 4A regional semifinal, marking the end of Sue Thompson's coaching career at Grant, as she is retiring.
Grant received 3 kills apiece from Hannah Johnson, Kylie Mueller, Emily Bringer and Taylor Drake. Megan Whitman, Kelli Varney and Kate Kiser (1 ace) were all 7-of-7 serving. Kiser was 42-of-44 setting with 18 assists. Whitman and Mueller each had 5 digs.
No. 7 Palatine will play No. 2 Stevenson in the regional final at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Lakes d. Grayslake North: At Grayslake North, the fifth-seeded Eagles won the Class 4A regional semifinal, downing the 12th-seeded Knights 25-16, 25-16.
Megan Behrendt racked up 5 kills, 11 digs and 2 aces for the Eagles, who will play No. 13 Barrington for the regional championship at 6 p.m. Thursday, after the Fillies ousted No. 4 Wauconda in 3 sets.
McKenna Lahr had 4 kills, 3 blocks and 3 aces for Lakes, while Katie Billetdeaux contributed 4 kills and 3 blocks. Maddie Demo delivered 20 assists and 3 kills for the Eagles, who also got contributions from Paige Bartlett (17 digs), Kaylee Romeo (3 kills, 1 block) and Izzy Huntington (4 kills, 7 digs).
For Grayslake North, Sidney Lovitsch and Kendall Buchman each had 3 kills. Taylor Johnston posted 15 digs.
Carmel d. Grayslake Central: At Lake Forest, the sixth-seeded Corsairs beat the No. 11 seed 25-17, 25-13.
Grace Butler's 4 kills and 12 assists led the way for Carmel (22-14), which plays No. 3 Lake Forest at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Class 4A regional final.
Cate Halverson, Izzy Smith and Erin Taylor each had 3 kills for the Corsairs. Elizabeth Tworek served 2 aces and notched 9 digs.
"Grayslake (Central) started well and jumped to an early lead, but we battled back with a 6-point run and got back in control," Carmel coach David Pazely said. "It was back and forth for a while to 11-11, but our offense clicked and our serving kept them out of system for the rest of the first set.
"In the second, our defense was everywhere and kept a lot of plays alive, which translated into points. Standout performances from (Makenzie) Feeney, (Giana) Moisio and Tworek tonight. Our seniors stepped up as leaders and fought hard from start to finish. Thursday against Lake Forest will hopefully be a good battle."
Grayslake Central (17-19) got 3 kills from Jackie Hamrick and 3 blocks and 2 kills from Allie Daul. Morgan Anderberg notched 11 digs. Marie Gerbasi finished with 2 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces.
"It was a tough way to end the season for us, but I'm proud of the way we played and everything we accomplished this season," Rams coach Jason Janczak said. "These seniors this year kept pushing the team to get better, and they continued to do so as the season went on."
Libertyville d. Highland Park: At Lake Zurich, the top-seeded Wildcats won their Class 4A state tournament opener over the No. 16 seed 25 11, 25-22.
Libertyville (29-5) advances to Thursday's 6 p.m. regional final against Warren.
Antioch d. Vernon Hills: At DePaul College Prep in Chicago, No. 3 Antioch prevailed against their North Suburban Prairie rival, rallying past the 14th-seeded Cougars 25-27, 25-13, 25-17.
Antioch advances to the Class 3A regional final and will play No. 6 Regina Dominican at 6 p.m. Thursday.