NT_091318

northbrooktower.com Sports
the northbrook tower | September 13, 2018 | 41
Girls Volleyball
Spartans hold off Titans in battle
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
Senior Grace Heywood
would like to see
this year’s girls volleyball
team at Glenbrook North
embrace a quality that can
be hard to come by in a
game that requires it.
“Having confidence is a
big issue,” Heywood said.
“You have to believe. It
shouldn’t be winning that
makes you confident. You
have to be confident when
you’re losing, too.”
Now in her second varsity
season after transferring
from Loyola Academy
after her sophomore
year, Heywood’s confident,
free-swinging style
as an outside hitter has
been on display again this
season.
“She’s always a strong
girl for us on the court, all
the time,” Spartans coach
Tiffany Kim said. “She
brings a little more fire and
aggressiveness. She’s not
afraid to hit and go at it.”
That aggressiveness
shined through at a key
moment during this year’s
Central Suburban League
crossover game against
Glenbrook South, played
in Northbrook on Sept. 5.
After losing the first set
to the Titans 25-18, the
Spartans were locked in
a set-two marathon with
their local rival. With the
set tied 31-31 and a raucous
home student fan section
going wild, Glenbrook
North needed to stay calm,
confident, and aggressive
in order to negotiate the
pressure of the moment.
Heywood stepped up,
getting a kill that put
her squad up a point and
earned back the serve
for Glenbrook North. An
ace from Spartans senior
Madilyn Schooley gave
North a 33-31 win to stay
alive in the match.
The Spartans cruised to
a 25-18 win in the third set
to win the match. North
Online content
For the photo gallery
from this game, visit
NorthbrookTower.com.
improved to 8-5 with the
win while the Titans fell
to 8-4.
“It makes it more fun
when you have to battle
like that to win,” Heywood
said. “We just kept it going
from the second game,
having confidence and a
lot of energy. And we were
scrappy on defense, which
helped us a lot.”
Middle hitters Erin Rosdahl
and Lexie Elie also
earned Kim’s praise for
their play, and setter Casey
Brown came on in the second
set to help spearhead
the win.
“(Brown) was sick yesterday
and we couldn’t use
her in the first game,” Kim
said. “The second game
was a lineup we usually
stick with and she calmed
us down and brought us a
The Glenbrook North girls volleyball team celebrates a
point won during the Spartans’ 18-25, 33-31, 25-18 win
over Glenbrook South on Sept. 5 in Northbrook. Gary
Larsen/22nd Century Media
little fire.”
For Glenbrook South, a
fine set-one performance
featured seven straight service
points from outside
hitter Kendall Smith that
gave the Titans an 11-4
lead. They stayed in control
and finished strong to
win the first set.
“We had our serving
down well and we were
passing well,” Smith said.
“We were doing the basics
and taking care of our jobs,
and everything was solid
so we could set up our hitters.
It was our passing and
serving that gave us the
ability to be aggressive.”
Titans coach Kelly Dorn
believed her girls played
too passively in the night’s
thrilling second set but had
high hopes for the third.
“They had momentum
but it was a good fight and
I thought we could get it
back in the third (set),”
Dorn said. “But we came
out of the box terrible
with unforced errors. But
we’re young, so some of
that stuff is just born from
youth. You saw flashes of
great play but we have to
start stringing that together.
It will come.”
Smith and middle blocker
Vanessa Kuliga shined
for the Titans in the loss
and Smith led all players
with 16 kills and a fine allaround
performance.
“She’s super athletic
and she really developed
her game since last year,”
Dorn said of Smith. “Last
year she was really just a
front-row girl. Now she’s
in the back row and she can
pass, play defense, and she
can attack from the back
row. She has made herself
an all-around player. She
did a lot of hard work in
the offseason.”
Boys Golf
Kogan leads way for North at local invite
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
Glenbrook North’s Max
Kogan shot a 74 to lead the
Spartans to a sixth-place
finish at the Deerfield Invite
on Saturday, Sept. 8 in
Long Grove.
Jonathan Chu (78), Issa
Kuwahara (78) and Max
Plasota (80) rounding out
their top-four finishers.
“Max was hitting it
well,” Spartans coach
Justin Gerbich said. “If
he could have putted it as
well as he normally does,
he could have (scored)
even lower. But 74 is a
good round on a day like
this.”
Kogan’s approach on a
windy day was simple.
“Play it to the middle of
the green and just try to be
patient and make pars,”
Kogan said. “You didn’t
need to push too hard for
birdies today.
“My ball-striking was
good. I was getting off
the tee pretty well and my
irons were good today. I
just missed a couple of
putts within five feet and
that’s not something I usually
do.”
The Spartans shot a 310
in placing sixth, just six
shots behind third-place
Highland Park. The top
three teams won trophies
at Twin Orchard.
“I thought if we shot a
310 in these conditions,
that would be playing
pretty well,” Gerbich said.
“Our guys got off to a
rough start but they hung
in there so that was nice to
see.”
Loyola Academy’s Peter
Radler placed eighth as a
junior at last year’s Class
3A state finals, but he knew
coming into his senior year
that the Ramblers would
need more from him than
just low scores this season.
“We had a group of established
leaders gradu-
Please see golf, 38
Glenbrook North's Tyler Chron watches his chip shot at
Saturday's 12-team Deerfield Invite, where the Spartans
finished sixth on Saturday, Sept. 8, in Long Grove. Gary
Larsen/22nd Century Media