Girls volleyball: Libertyville upsets Cary-Grove
Libertyville's girls volleyball team started playing better toward the end of the regular season.
The Wildcats' improved play has continued this week.
They followed up their play-in win over Grayslake North by upsetting No. 4 seed and host Cary-Grove 24-26, 26-24, 25-22 in a Class 4A regional semifinal in Cary on Tuesday night.
No. 13 Libertyville will play No. 6 Warren (25-11) in Thursday's 6 p.m. final at Cary-Grove, marking the third straight year that the Wildcats and Blue Devils will face each other in a regional-title match.
Libertyville freshman Peyton O'Brien had 11 assists and 3 kills against Cary-Grove (19-13), and she ended the match with a block. Kailey Christianson added 10 assists and 12 digs for the Wildcats. Kelly Hopper and Amanda Reinhardt pounded 8 and 6 kills, respectively. Madi O'Brien racked up 5 kills and 13 digs, Morgan DeGregor tallied 27 digs, and Jenn Formica had 15 digs.
Warren d. Wauconda: At Cary-Grove, Ella White pounded 14 kills, as the sixth-seeded Blue Devils prevailed 25-21, 20-25, 25-11 in the Class 4A regional semifinal.
Allison Maan de kok dished out 19 assists and served 5 aces for Warren (25-11), which also got 8 kills from Katie Corr and six from Dana Lundtveit. Ora Cohen chipped in 4 kills and 2 blocks. Hannah Barbosa tallied 15 digs, and Abby Berkowicz lofted 15 assists.
No. 12 Wauconda ended its season at 19-16.
Grayslake Central d. Carmel: At Carmel Catholic, Cassidy Beshel slammed 12 kills, Lauren LaBeck dished out 20 assists, and the ninth-seeded Rams defeated the No. 8 seed 26-24, 25-18 in a Class 4A regional semifinal.
Grayslake Central (23-13) will play face top-seeded Crystal Lake Central in Thursday's 6 p.m. final at Carmel.
Taylor Hindman added 4 kills for Grayslake Central, while Elisa Koshy and Michelle Maraist had three each. LaBeck also contributed 2 aces and 2 blocks. The Rams' other contributors included Lizzie Twardock (2 aces), Abby Marassa (7 digs) and Maya Schnitzler (2 aces, 5 digs).
"Very proud of how well our girls fought tonight against a much-improved Carmel team," Grayslake Central coach Jason Janczak said. "Even though we were playing in a hostile environment, our girls were able to stay focused on playing their best and making sure they fought for every point. Everyone contributed tonight to a total team win."
Antioch d. Woodstock North: At Woodstock, the top-seeded Sequoits had to rally in their Class 3A regional semifinal, winning 11-25, 25-17, 25-19.
Antioch (23-11-1) will play No. 4 Richmond-Burton in Thursday's 6 p.m. final.