Lake Forest Sweeps Fremd to Collect Regional Volleyball Title

GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL

Date: Oct. 27 - St. Viator Regional Final

The Final Score: Lake Forest defeated Fremd, 25-19, 25-22.

Scouts’ Star Performer: Tori Lanzilotti and Mary Striedl provided some big hits at crucial times in both games, and Lake Forest was assisted by some poor serving by Fremd, which gave up 10 points on serves that either hit the net or went out of bounds. Lanzillotti had 9 kills, 3 aces, 5 digs, and 2 solo blocks, while
Striedl posted 6 kills and 5 digs.

Other Notable Scout Performances: Lake Forest also received timely hitting by Carolyn Hopfinger, who had three kills down the stretch of Game Two.  Anna Schwartz had the clinching hit in Game One. Heidi Sierks had 20 assists and 4 digs, while Maggie Jacobson added nine digs.

Who’s Next: The Scouts advance to the Buffalo Grove Sectional semifinal against Lake Zurich, which won the last meeting, 25-22, 21-25, 14-25 on Oct. 17. Lake Zurich beat Libertyville in the Libertyville Regional final, 25-21, 22-25, and 28-26.

The Bottom Line: The Scouts survived some lulls against Fremd to win in two straight for their first regional title in nearly a decade. In Game One, Lake Forest led 14-13 and then scored six of the next seven points to forge a 20-14 advantage. In Game Two, the score was tied nine times. The Vikings scored six straight points to gain a 22-21 lead, but the Scouts regrouped and tied the score for the last time at 22-22, and then used three hits from Hopfinger and an ace serve from Heidi Sierks to seal the win. Lake Forest will have its work cut out against Lake Zurich, but getting past the regional final where the Scouts emerged with a win for the first time in two years is a good hurdle to overcome.