Wednesday night, the girls’ varsity volleyball team won their division in a game against North Suburban Conference rivals Lake Zurich. Libertyville took home an impressive victory, winning the match in two games by the scores of 25-14 and 25-23, improving its record to 23-5 (7-0 in conference) and solidifying their dominance this season by winning the NSC Lake Division.
Making the division title even sweeter is that the victory came on senior night. The seniors were honored before the game and walked out onto the court with their parents. Each senior played quality minutes and contributed to Libertyville’s 19th straight conference win.
Energized by the pregame festivities, Libertyville came out of the gate fast in the first game, pulling ahead early and never looking back. Lead by senior captains Erin Dunleavy, Jacqui Widmark and Hannah Zerwas, the Cats quickly found themselves with a double-digit lead, which they held onto for most of the first game.
Lake Zurich could not get anything going, as Libertyville’s defense was strong throughout the game. Junior captain Morgan O’Brien set the tone defensively with quality digs, and the rest of the team followed suit. The strong team defense, along with forceful kills offensively, allowed Libertyville to make quick work of Lake Zurich and build confidence going into the second game.
The confidence might have come too soon, however, as the second game was nothing like the first. Lake Zurich was not happy with how the first game went, and they made sure to show Libertyville that they did come to play.
The Bears came out hot, taking an early 6-3 lead. The Bears maintained their strong play, forcing Libertyville’s coach, Greg Loika, to take a timeout down 8-12.
Libertyville fought back, as Hannah Zerwas got a kill to tie the game at 16 apiece. Zerwas and the team were determined to show that the first game wasn’t a fluke and wanted to make sure that a third game would not be needed.
With five points needed for a Libertyville victory, and still down by a point, senior Allison Watson took the game into her own hands. Watson scored to tie the game at 21, and soon after had the kill that put Libertyville up 23-22. Two plays later, with one point needed to secure the win, Watson had the game-winning kill.
Lake Zurich put up a strong fight, but it ultimately wasn’t enough for Libertyville’s team-oriented victory. Each player for LHS was counted on at some point of the game. Dunleavy had a strong performance from her outside hitter position, and senior Claire Williams made some key contributions as well.
The Cats will be playing again this weekend in the Maine West Invitational Tournament and look to maintain their momentum going forward. The North Suburban Conference Championship will be played on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
