Boys volleyball: Cook, Hawkinson help Libertyville tackle Lake Forest

Go ahead, talk to him about until you're blue in the face - Brendan Cook is not going to play college volleyball.

Yes, the Libertyville senior has a devastating serve and can pound a ball at the net, but football is still king at his house. Plus, North Dakota State has no men's volleyball team in their program.

On Wednesday, Cook got the message that Libertyville standout Jack Stevens was sick and out of action for the North Suburban Conference battle with Lake Forest. No matter, Cook (7 kills, 4 aces) and Colin Hawkinson (9 kills) helped Libertyville sack the Scouts 25-20, 25-20.

Cook had no trouble complimenting his fellow senior, Hawkinson.

"He was a JV player,'' Cook said. "And last year, he was a role player. He played club and improved so much. I'm so thankful he's on our team."

Both contests were tight the whole way. With Kevin Villanueva serving for the Wildcats, a Hawkinson kill helped the Cats open up a 13-9 lead in set one.

The Scouts then had a surge of their own sparked by another key player. He's Kevin Lamp. And yes, Cook knows something about this Stanford-bound junior.

"I played three years with Kevin,'' he said. "He was always playing up. He's a very competitive player."

Smith was hoping to see Stevens battle Lamp.

Hawkinson was at the serving line when Libertyville surged late. A few Scouts errors and the first set was over.

"Colin had his best game,'' said Libertyville coach Jenny Smith. "We are glad we moved him to the right side."

There were eight ties in the early part of set two. Smith needed some help with Stevens out and reached to the JV team for outside hitter Patrick Graham.

"He gave us two huge blocks,'' Smith said.

The Cats (12-1, 3-0) were helped out by 6 serving aces.

"We serving aggressively,'' Smith noted.

With Alex Weick serving, a few Lake Forest errors gave the Cats some breathing room with the second set.

Setter Carter Schaffnit notched 18 assists. Libero Ryan Winiger had 4 digs. Mark Demaree had 2 kills and 2 blocks. Wieck also had 4 digs.