Libertyville didn’t win the Lake County Invitational boys volleyball tournament, but it is a better team than it was before Friday.
The Wildcats entered the two-day tournament Friday with an 0-6 record. But three victories earned them a spot in Saturday’s semifinals against the tournament’s top-seed, Zion-Benton. On April 14, Libertyville lost in two games to the Zee-Bees, 25-15, 25-17.
In Saturday’s semifinals, the Wildcats again lost to the Zee-Bees in two games, 25-23, 27-25. But the competitiveness of the match is a sign of Libertyville’s improvement.
“We had a bad [match] against them earlier. We had a lot of errors,” Wildcats coach Jennifer Smith said. “Our guys really stepped up and cleaned up their play.”
Trailing 20-15 in the second game, the Wildcats stormed back behind the serving of senior setter Kyle Winiger. When Zion-Benton received and put the ball back over the net, Libertyville stayed in system due to the consistent play of sophomore libero Sam Kharasch and middle-hitting seniors Zac Hauser and Pete Feely.
“We were playing more as a group instead of individually,” Kharasch said. “We did a lot better, especially in the second [game]. It was really close.”
After senior outside hitter Chris Akers slammed down a kill, the Wildcats served to win the game at 25-24. But the Zee-Bees closed out the match by taking the final three points. Zion-Benton won the tournament with a two-game win over Lakes in the title match.
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Libertyville took third place with an easy 25-15, 25-15 win over Grant. Although the Wildcats’ overall record of 4-7 may not show it, victories over Lakes, Chesterton (Indiana), Stevenson and Grant in less than 24 hours at the Lake County Invitational has them believing better days are ahead.
“We can play in those tough matches with those big boys and hang. Come the end of the season when it matters who wins and loses, we’ll be up there and comfortable playing on those tight matches,” Smith said.
Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @prepspioneer