With a No. 1 Seed, Lake Forest Ready to Back it Up in 4A State Tourney

Relax.

It seems a contradiction in terms at this time of the season, with the pressure-filled Class 4A State Tournament under way.

But that’s exactly what coach Ray Werner believes will separate the contenders from the pretenders when the Scouts begin their Class 4A tourney path against Highland Park in the St. Viator Regional at 6:30 tonight, Oct. 25, in Arlington Heights.

“The team best able to relax and play comfortably will be the one to win it,” Werner said. “They need to take the inner chatter and make it positive.”

sees a wide-open race for the 4A state title, including Lake Forest among 20 other teams. He believes the team most capable of competing within itself will be the one to complete the year with seven more wins.

First No. 1 Seed Since 1998

The Scouts are one of eight No. 1 seeds, marking the first time since 1998 that Lake Forest earned one of the coveted rankings.

“We got the No. 1 seed for a reason,” Werner said. “We are a very good team with very good players.”

So far this year, the Scouts have met three of the No. 1 seeds, defeating New Trier and Lyons while losing to York. Werner does not see a lot of difference between top seeds and teams rated second or third. 

“There are six really solid teams and 15 more that can beat the others,” Werner said. “A three seed can easily beat a one seed. There is not much difference between a one and a three. The team that can relax will have more success that night.” 

The top seeding was a vindication to many of the Scouts, who said they felt slighted by the media outlets that ranked the state’s top teams all year and excluded Lake Forest week after week as it posted a 29-4 record.

Not only did the Scouts win two of their three outings against other No. 1 seeds, they defeated a pair of second seeds, stopping Stevenson twice and Evanston once. They also upended a third seed, Glenbrook South. Still they were not ranked.

Seeding Brings Vindication

“Each week we looked at the rankings and we weren’t there. We were never on the verge,” said, referring to a listing at the end of the rankings of teams close to cracking the top 20. “We got the one seed that really matters. They (the Illinois High School Association) know best.”

A year ago, the Scouts . They have carried the lessons from that game where the squad of 11 juniors and three seniors ended its season. Now those 11 juniors are seniors, including three — Sierks, Mary Striedl and Tori Lanzillotti — who will play next year in college.

“In the regional final last year we did not play our best volleyball,” Werner said. “We got nervous.” 

The Scouts know they must concentrate on one ball at a time to heed Werner’s concerns about turning their “inner chatter” into something positive. They also believe depth will prove to be a difference. 

“There is always a player who steps up,” Striedl said. “We were missing Tori (Lanzillotti) at the Cross-Town Classic (last Friday and Saturday) and Hannah Gullberg stepped up to take the pressure off. That shows how deep we are.” Gullberg contributed 23 kills, six aces and 12 digs for the tourney. 

With Lanzillotti and Striedl leading the attack in the front and Sierks distributing the ball to her teammates — she posted 115 assists in the Cross-Town Classic — the Scouts are able to keep opponents off balance. 

“They really make my job easy,” Sierks said of her teammates. “I can distribute the ball to any of our hitters. I have three options and they all do a good job.” 

Striedl is quick to share the credit for her kills as well as those of Lanzillotti and others to Sierks.

“Heidi (Sierks) is an awesome setter,” Striedl said. “She can run the offense in all directions. It really messes them (the opposition) up.”