Girls volleyball: Libertyville starts quick, sweeps Carmel

A fast start is oh so important in volleyball.

The Libertyville girls volleyball team proved that Tuesday night.

Playing on the road at Carmel, the Wildcats got off to big leads in both sets en route to a 25-13, 25-19 victory.

The quick beginning in game two was tempered a bit, however, when junior middle Lily Evans went down with an injury.

"I rolled my ankle pretty bad," said Evans, who was on crutches after the match but added that "hopefully" the injury would feel better soon.

"I was sad I couldn't play," said Evans, "but happy that we won. I was upset, it always stinks to hurt yourself during a game, but we did well. We really worked as a family tonight, and we always work well together no matter what."

Libertyville junior setter Jamie Marquardt paced the Wildcats with 12 assists in a game that was played in front of a pair of enthusiastic, spirited student sections.

"Had a playoff vibe to it tonight, which was good," said Libertyville coach Greg Loika. "We historically struggle in this building, but playing in this environment I thought we did a good job - especially since we had to change up our lineup a bit in set two."

Senior outside hitter Abby Blanchette led the Carmel attack with 6 kills, and despite the loss, Corsairs coach David Pazely had nothing but praise for the effort of his squad.

"In any sport, when you dig a hole it's hard to climb out of it," said the coach, "but with that said I give our girls credit.

"They never dropped their heads, they never shrugged their shoulders. They were always focused and into it, and they were fighting for the win."

After running out to a 5-0 lead in winning the first set, Libertyville did it again in game two.

After an ace from libero Macy Schaffnit, who played an outstanding match, the Wildcats led the second set 9-2.

Carmel didn't give in, though, and when 6-4 senior middle Jordan Wood had consecutive block kills, the deficit was just 22-19.

But Libertyville recovered to score the final three points, the match-winner coming on a kill by Margot Kaufman.

"We feel like we controlled the match and put ourselves in a good position," said Loika. "We really focused on winning that first contact battle."

Schaffnit finished with 2 aces for the winners, while Keira Kasten led the attack with 6 kills.

The Wildcats are now 6-2 on the year, and Evans said she's been very impressed with her team's performance thus far.

"We were in a good tournament over the weekend," she said, "and this was a really good game for us. It brought us up, and hopefully, we go on from here."