LIBERTYVILLE STOPS PALATINE

The only scouting report on this match came from the Pumpkin Invitational. That's when Palatine took two sets from the Libertyville Wildcats volleyball team. "We knew we couldn't overlook them,'' said Libertyville senior Haley Stevenson. "They had some great players. They are awesome." Lakes High School hosted the rematch of Palatine-Libertyville on Tuesday night. At stake was a Class 4A sectional championship appearance at 6 p.m. Thursday. Libertyville (27-11) took the first set 25-20. In the second set, the Pirates had a crazy lead of 17-4. Yes, it went three full sets. And on two successive serving aces from setter Anna Lillydahl, the Wildcats had taken Palatine's best shot, and Libertyville will play for that sectional crown after prevailing 25-20, 17-25, 25-20. It will be a rematch from last year's sectional battle. That means Libertyville and Stevenson will play for that crown. The Pats also went three sets to win, 12-25, 25-18, 25-23. A season ago, Stevenson prevailed in the sectional final. "We knew this would be a dogfight,'' said Libertyville coach Greg Loika. "We worked on serving aggressively in practice." Libertyville jumped on the Pirates in set one. With Lillydahl spreading the wealth around, the Wildcats had kills from Stevenson (9 kills), Morgan O'Brien and a kill from Lillydahl as well. And what about that second set? It looked like a repeat of set one as a pair of 26s, notched kills. It was Anna Valente (10 kills) and Brooke Bauer who answered back for Palatine. But a 17-4 lead in a sectional semifinal? "Something was off,'' said Libertyville senior, Lauren Hall. "But this was the best match. Our fans were crazy tonight. They really pumped us up." Libertyville could have flown the white flag but instead cut substantially into the Palatine lead. With Hall serving, the Cats had block kills from Lillydahl and Stevenson. Valente and Morgan O'Brien added kills and the Cats cut the Palatine lead to 20-12. "We had a great start in the first set,'' Stevenson said. "And we definitely didn't like that feeling in the second set." Stevenson is taking her volleyball skills South. She will play at Emory University in Atlanta. Palatine slugger Beverly Ryan-Darrah had 3 kills in the middle set as the Pirates pushed this match to three. "Volleyball is a game of momentum,'' Loika said. "I think we outscored them by 16 points in that set and it gave us momentum for the third set." Yes, after dominating the Cats in the second set, Palatine did not have a single lead in the final set. Caroline Frea (6 kills) opened the final set with a kill. Now, it wasn't like the Pirates were blown out in set three. Three times, Palatine pulled within a single point of the Cats. With Sam Albright serving, a few Palatine hitting errors and another Lillydahl kill, the Libertyville lead looked safe at 19-14. Ryan-Darrah knocked back-to-back kills as Palatine fought back. Valente stopped that run with another kill. "We knew this was going to be a tough match,'' Hall said. Lillydahl (26 assists) added a kill and provided those last 2 aces to advance her to team to the title match. Libertyville's record-setting libero Morgan O'Brien registered 35 digs.