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Mixed results for local teams at Cougar Classic
Updated: September 8, 2012 7:07PM
VERNON HILLS — Three Lake County girls volleyball teams took part in Saturday’s 11th annual Cougar Classic, which turned out to be a good news/bad news scenario for each team.
Carmel finished third overall in the eight-team event after narrowly missing a chance to advance to the title game during a three-set semifinal slugfest with Jacobs. The Corsairs and Golden Eagles split the first two sets, and despite being behind 22-20 in the third set, Jacobs rallied and scored five of the game’s final six points to advance.
Glenbrook North then downed Jacobs in three sets (25-16, 24-26, 25-21) to win the title.
“I was extremely pleased with the way we played today,” Carmel coach David Pazely said. “Considering we had a number of players who were out taking their mock ACT tests today, I thought we battled extremely hard. And we took Glenbrook North and Jacobs — the first- and second-place teams — both to three sets.”
The Corsairs, who figure to be one of the area’s top teams as the season progresses, finished 3-2 on the day to put their overall record at 11-4.
In other action, Buffalo Grove, which also went 3-2 during the event, finished fifth. The Bison posted a pair of wins over Jones — once in pool play and again after the teams were re-seeded — and also knocked off host Vernon Hills.
Vernon Hills, who has won the North Suburban Conference’s Prairie Division five years in a row, struggled throughout the day. The Cougars went winless at 0-5, but remained extremely positive afterward.
“We lost five key seniors from last year’s group, and are using four sophomores right now who are playing on a consistent basis,” coach Abbie Gutzmer said. “The good news is, our girls aren’t down at all, despite these bumps in the road. And it’s given us a great opportunity to get some of our younger players some significant experience at the varsity level. That will only help us in the long run.
“I’d hate to be a team that plays us in October, because I think we’re gonna figure it out.”
