Girls Volleyball Blows Out Willowbrook, Still Undefeated

The first three matches were nail-biters. The latest two, the Lions blew the opponents' nails right off.

LTHS varsity girls volleyball improved to 5-0 Wednesday with a 25-5, 25-8 win at North Campus over the Willowbrook Warriors. This follows their 25-3, 25-7 whipping of the Proviso West Panthers on Tuesday—back to back blowouts on back to back days. (See our video highlights from the Proviso West game to the right.)

Outside hitter Jocelynn Birks had seven kills, and setter Erin Juley posted a stunning 18 assists, while middle hitter Julia Watkins spiked four kills and outside hitter Laura Williams slammed down three. Libero Megan Miller kept the Warriors defense off balance with wobbly float serves, and all Lions front-row players put up huge double and triple blocks all night.

The Lions dropped the first two points of the first set before going on a seven-point tear fueled by massive kills that echoed through the gym. A Willowbrook triple-block stopped the roll only momentarily, and the score was 15-3 by the time the weary Warriors called a time-out. It did little for them, and the Lions cruised to finish 25-5.

In the second set, the Lions subs went in. It didn't help Willowbrook. The score was 11-3 by the first timeout, and aside from a couple bloopers, the LTHS offense plowed onward to their 25-8 victory, making four straight games keeping opponents in the single digits.

"We practice a lot and work hard," explained Birks after the match. "So in games, we know what we need to do and we go out there and do it… We hope we can keep this going, but we don't want to get too confident."

It hasn't always been so easy for this team. Their first three matches all went to three sets: 25-15, 22-25, 25-22 against York; 25-22, 17-25, 25-17 against Sandburg; 25-22, 23-25, 25-19 against Lake Forest. Win-lose-win, again and again.

The pattern broke against less-than-powerhouse Proviso West, where Birks had five kills and Watkins eight. Juley posted 13 assists, and fellow setter Lara Williams had nine. Middle hitter Kelsey Keeve was strong in multiple areas, with four aces along with her four kills.

Juley, who recently had surgery on her right ACL after injuring it during the club season, appeared after the game with a huge bag of ice on her knee—and a huge five-and-oh smile on her face.

She said the surgery was barely affecting her play. "I thought I was going to have to change the way I was setting and blocking," she said. "[But] I just need to make sure I protect myself and make sure I don't run into anyone."

And while Juley was happy with the win, she added that the team could have played even better—a sentiment echoed by varsity coach Joann Pyritz.

"I'm always guarded" about her team's chances, said Pyritz. "We've won some good matches, but we've got a tough schedule ahead. So, guarded, but obviously optimistic."

LTHS next plays a triple-header versus Lockport, New Trier and Richards at 5pm Friday, in the North Campus fieldhouse.