Lake Forest's State Volleyball Path Stops with Sectional Final Loss

Date: Nov. 3 - Buffalo Grove Sectional Final

The Final Score: lost to Stevenson, 25-18, 20-25, 23-25

Scouts’ Star Performer: Despite the loss, Lake Forest advanced to the Sectional finals for the first time in at least a decade, brought home its  and its first 

Other Notable Scout Performances: Lake Forest will graduate 11 seniors, including the one-two-three punch of Tory Lanzillotti, Mary Striedl and Heidi Sierks, all headed to play in college. The rest include Meredith Huszagh, Mary Gwen Baker, Anna Schwartz, Hannah Gullberg, Jennifer Kreb, Carolyn Hopfinger, Katie Lazzara and Maggie Jacobson.

Who's Next: Stevenson (31-8) advances to the Super-Sectional against either Cary or Huntley at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lake Zurich High School. The winner advances to the State semifinals on Nov. 11 at Illinois State University in Normal.

The Bottom Line: The Scouts started off like a team with a mission, jumping to a 9-3 advantage in Game 1. Stevenson rallied to close the gap to 13-11, but Lake Forest answered with a five-point outburst to earn an 18-13 edge and were never threatened again in posting a 25-18 win. In Game 2, after the two teams were tied four times in the early going, Stevenson went on a four-point tear to lead 13-9 and never lost the lead again, winning 25-20. In the deciding game, Lake Forest came out strong again to gain a 9-5 lead. However, the Patriots answered this time, scoring six of the next eight points to forge a tie at 11, and secure a 13-11 lead. Stevenson never led by more than three points and used one of Rachel Baader's 14 kills in the match to stake a 22-20 lead. But the Scouts rallied when the Patriots' Michelle Schroeder served into the net and Striedl blocked Baader's spike to tie the score at 22-22. Baader came back with another kill, but Lake Forest tied the score again at 23 on Kreb's block. The Patriots went back in front and Lanzillotti's hit went out of bounds to close the match.