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Girls volleyball: Barrington downs Libertyville for first regional title since 2006

No. 2-seeded Barrington came ready to play, and the Fillies refused to be denied their first IHSA regional girls volleyball championship since 2006 Thursday at Buffalo Grove.

No. 7-seeded Libertyville fell behind 20-12 in the opening set and the Wildcats could never recover as they lost the first set 25-17 in this Class 4A contest.

Barrington (30-7) had to play catch-up for the early part of the second set, but in the end the Fillies would come on strong to post a 25-20 victory over Libertyville (23-14) to advance to the Glenbrook South sectional semifinals Monday at 6:30 p.m. where they will face No. 5-seed Warren.

Junior outside-hitter Jessica Horwath was a huge difference-maker for Barrington from start to finish, and she got a great assist on one of her 13 kills from senior teammate Amanda Cleary late in Set 2.

Clinging to a 22-20 lead, Cleary saved what would have been a sure point for the Wildcats with her shoe as Cleary kept the play alive on a Libertyville spike attempt. Moments later, Horwath got a spike for a 23-20 lead before 2 service points by Gwen Adler (14 assists, 6 points) closed out the game and the match.

"(Horwath) attacked the ball so smart, we didn't pass the ball great, and she did such a great job finding the open court," said Barrington coach Michelle Jakubowski. "They played a solid match, and they did what we talked about even when Libertyville made a run."

Another huge all-around contributor for the Fillies was sophomore Jenna Meitzler with 7 points, 7 assists, 6 kills, 3 digs, 2 aces, and 2 dink-shots that left the Wildcats' defense completely flat-footed.

"We put a lot of work into this, and I think our energy really paid off," said Horwath, who had 4 digs. "We knew even if something went wrong we are confident, and if someone makes a mistake another person is going to pick them up."

Libertyville stormed out to an 8-5 lead in the second set, but Barrington slowly fought back to take its first lead at 10-9 before taking its biggest lead at 19-14 to put the Wildcats on the ropes. The Wildcats got as close as 20-19 late in the match before being outscored 5-1 the rest of the way.

"I think we were as ready and prepared for them as we could be and they don't have any glaring weaknesses," said Libertyville coach Greg Loika. "In Set two it was point-to-point until the end, and hats off to them. They were the better team today."

Libertyville was led by Keira Kasten with 6 kills and 2 blocks, and Hannah Fleming with 4 kills. Barrington's Campbell Paris had 6 kills while teammate Sarah Jensen had 5 points. Libertyville's Grace Comilla had 8 digs and 5 assists while teammate Jamie Marquardt had 8 assists. The Wildcats also got 4 blocks from Kelly Hutchins and 2 blocks from Margot Kaufman.

  Barrington's Jessica Horwath hits the final point of the win against Libertyville in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Berkeley Ploder gets the ball past Libertyville's Grace Bonjour in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Jessica Horwath gets a shot past Libertyville's Margot Kaufman in a Regional playoff final volleyball game on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Jenna Meitzler tries to get the ball past Libertyville's Keira Kasten and Kelly Hutchins, right, in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Jessica Horwath returns a Libertyville shot in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Campbell Paris hits from the corner against Libertyville's Olivia Powell in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville's Ashley Branford goes against Barrington's Bre Dunn in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville's Hannah Fleming and Keira Kasten, right, try to return a serve from Barrington in a Regional playoff final volleyball game on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville's Hannah Fleming takes a shot against Barrington's Jessica Horwath and Bre Dunn, right, in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Bre Dunn tries to block a shot by Margot Kaufman Libertyville's in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville's Macy Schaffnit returns a Barrington shot in a Regional playoff final volleyball match on Thursday, October 28, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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