Vernon Hills High School's Chris Curry Named State Coach of the Year

Vernon Hills High School head boys' varsity volleyball coach Chris Curry, who has also coached at Libertyville High School, was named 2012 "Coach of the Year" by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Vernon Hills High School Volleyball Coach Chris Curry has received the 2012 Coach of the Year award at the state level in Boys’ Volleyball from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), according to a post on the school's Facebook page. The award recognizes his outstanding service and unselfish devotion to interscholastic activities. The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) nominated Curry for the award based upon his positive work with the athletes in the VHHS program. Curry is in his 18th year of coaching in District 128. In addition to his current position as head varsity boys’ volleyball coach, Curry has also coached volleyball, softball and baseball at Libertyville High School, and girls’ volleyball at VHHS…

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Team of the Week

Team of the Week: Libertyville Girls Volleyball

Grueling loss to Lake Zurich in regional championship can't take away from another successful season

On paper, it looked to be an excellent match: Amanda Orchard and Layne Self of Lake Zurich heading to Libertyville for a regional title meet with Kristen Webb and Cindy Zhou of the Wildcats. It lived up to its billing and more. That 28-game winner from Libertyville High School fell short on Thursday night. Rather, fell just short in a thrilling 25-21, 22-25, 28-26 win by the visiting Bears. “Yeah, tough loss,” said Libertyville coach Greg Loika. “We played great, sometimes with two evenly matched teams the ball just bounces one way or another at the end. That’s the hardest part for the girls. They executed our game plan, the defense and offense played well, we passed well, Cindy ran a great offense, and we just came up short at the very …

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Wildcat Volleyball Coach Drove Bus That Injured 11

A Libertyville High School volleyball coach was driving students to a tournament when it collided with a truck in Grayslake on Oct. 22.

The coach of Libertyville High School’s volleyball team was driving a bus with 11 students to a tournament in Woodstock when it collided with a pickup truck on Route 83 in Grayslake on Saturday morning, Oct. 22. The bus was northbound on Route 83 and was making a left on Washington Street when it collided with a southbound pickup truck as both vehicles entered the intersection, according to Grayslake Police Chief Matt McCutcheon. Jorge Tamayo, 32, of Chicago, was cited with failing to yield when he turned left. Tamayo faces a $125 fine and is due to appear at North Branch Court on Nov. 23. “Both vehicles entered the intersection on solid green light,” McCutcheon said. The bus flipped on its side and the students exited the bus through the …

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Updated: School Bus Flipped Over, 11 Taken To Area Hospitals

Eleven girls from Libertyville High School were taken to area hospitals after their school bus crashed into a pickup truck in Grayslake Saturday morning.

***** Updated Oct. 22, 2:45 p.m. All of the students and the coach involved in Saturday's bus accident in Grayslake have been treated and released from area medical facilities. No one suffered serious injuries, according to a statement released by Community High School District 128. ***** A crash between a school bus filled with 11 girls from Libertyville and a pick up truck sent all the teens to local hospitals with minor injuries. Members of the Libertyville High School volleyball team were headed to Woodstock for a tournament when their bus crashed into a pick up truck on Route 83 in Grayslake this morning.  "The bus was hit and flipped on its side," said Sgt. Scott Heimos of the Grayslake Police Department. The accident occured at 7:41…

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Two Special Wildcats on Libertyville's Volleyball Team

Libero Kristen Webb and setter Cindy Zhou lead this Wildcats team

Sure Stevenson coach Tim Crow was in a good mood after his team came back to beat Libertyville on Wednesday night. But then he thought for a moment and remarked that both setter Cindy Zhou and libero Kristen Webb were the two top players in the conference. It was just last fall when these two sophomores broke into coach Greg Loika's starting lineup. And then the Wildcats went on quite a ride, winning 26 matches in a row. Off to college are the two special hitters Paige Hopper and Catie Steffen. It's a new season for the Libertyville volleyball team. Tested veterans in Zhou, Webb And it's a good thing that the Wildcats have two tested veterans in Zhou and Webb. "I think they are maturing into the leaders they are, and this year they will be…

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Glory Days

Glory Days with Volleyball Star Arian Adams

Her ability to pound a volleyball helped Libertyville High School win 36 matches in a row in 1994.

One day on a walk with Mia, Liam, Olivia and Brynne, Arian Colton, née Adams, can bring up the subject of sports. She can tell her children tales from her days at Libertyville High School. How she pounded a volleyball so hard that it scared some folks. How she combined with the likes of Lindsey Celba, Sarah Weiss and Katie Sriver to form one of the best volleyball teams in the state. And maybe she'll bring up that painful memory of how that season ended. Adams' Waterloo "It comes up all the time,'' Adams Colton said. "I'll never forget it. We had a lot of great players. But mostly we remember that Carmel match." On its march to a possible state title, the unbeaten Wildcats tripped on their home floor to neighbor Carmel. And it wasn't like …

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Glory Days

Glory Days with Softball Star Mary Tiegs

Libertyville's softball coach resigns her post. However, her playing days at Libertyville earned her nine varsity letters.

Officially, it was a changeup. That’s the pitch that struck out Libertyville High School catcher Mary Tiegs. “I had already hit a homer,” Tiegs said. “It was my senior year against Carmel.” So what is the big deal about this strikeout? It was the only time in her high school career that she fanned. Tiegs, Libertyville’s softball coach for the past seven seasons, has resigned her post. Maybe she told some of her Wildcats players about her days on the diamond, but maybe not. By all accounts, she was one gifted athlete. After Libertyville, she earned a full ride softball scholarship to Eastern Illinois University. In 2002, she was elected to the Eastern Illinois University sports Hall of Fame. Mary Boyes Kovatch was the shortstop on the …

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Rochon, Sullivan Call It A Day At Libertyville

Fixtures at boys volleyball matches, the two coaches will step down following the season.

Come to think of it he might have made one imposing hockey player. It's funny where life can take you. Steve Rochon, all 6-foot-6 of him, tried his hand at both baseball and basketball but he settled on a life on the ice. But after 10 years of skating, he was looking for something else to do. They took a look at his 6-foot-6 frame and said look inside the gym. And the rest is history. Rochon and his associate coach, Cindy Sullivan, have been coaching boys volleyball at Libertyville since the beginning of the program 19 years ago. And when they take their seats on Tuesday at Mundelein both will know this might be their final match to coach. Both Rochon and Sullivan will step down following the season. Simply, their busy day jobs are too …

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LHS Volleyball Coach: Team Overcame Adversity for Winning Season

Libertyville Patch sits down for a question-and-answer session with coach Greg Loika.

Following a stellar season that ended with a three-set loss to Stevenson High School in the sectional semifinals, Libertyville Patch talked to Libertyville High School volleyball coach Greg Loika about his squad's outstanding season, which included a 35-3 overall record. Libertyville Patch: What was the most memorable moment of the 2010 girls volleyball season for you, coach? Greg Loika: There were a lot of things that were memorable. One thing that stands out is how we, at one point, took 27 games in a row. We also went through some rough parts in the schedule that we were able to play through and overcame a lot of adversity. Most of all, I think, it was very exciting to do even better than we did the year before, and the fact that we …

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