Host Central Takes 4th At Ram Slam Volleyball Invite

Volleyball teams from both Grayslake Central and Grayslake North had success in the recent Ram Slam Volleyball Tournament. Here's a recap for Grayslake Central:

Pool Play

The Lady Rams of Grayslake Central started off the volleyball tournament by defeating the J-Hawks of Rockford Jefferson 25-12 and 25-13 in pool play. Next they defeated the Warhawks of North Chicago 25-4 and 25-6. In the third round of pool play, the Rams were pitted against a team that Head Coach Jason Janczak picked as the favorite the Richmond Burton Rockets. The Rams battled fiercely before falling to the Rockets 19-25 and 27-26.

"There’s a learning curve when you start four sophomores, but there is a strong desire in the girls to get better on the court," Janczak said. "Meghan Brewster is doing a great job for us with us a team leading 79 sets and Alex Dahlstrom is starting to play at the level we expect her to with 12 blocks in the tournament. She can become a dominant force in the game if she learns to trust in her abilities. An of course, you can’t mention Grayslake Central volleyball without mentioning our leader Klaudia Basierak."

Senior outside hitter Klaudia Basierak is acknowledged by her teammates and coach as the leader of Central’s team. She led the team with 36 kills in the tournament and her 45 digs were second on the team to libero Maria Treato’s 69.

Bracket Play

The Lady Rams dropped a pair of games to a very strong team from Carmel 23-25 and 17-25. Next they faced the Bulldogs of Wauconda and in two great games fought valiantly but ultimately lost 24-26 and 22-25.

Basierak said, "Our team chemistry is getting stronger and stronger with every practice, game and match. We are really making progress as a team."

Sophomore setter Meghan Brewster sees the offense as the strength of the team. "Our offense was really on today. We have to work on finishing our matches and execute at the end."

Facing tough teams proved a challenge defensively.

"Our service return was down," Janczak said. "There’s no other way to describe it. We can’t let good teams like Carmel and Wauconda run us off the court like that. Offensively we looked great and that was what I expected from the team. We’re disappointed with our finish but we know why we finished the way we did. We’re gonna fix that."

What's Next

The Lady Rams play Woodstock at home on Thursday, Sept. 8 and travel to Lakes High School on Saturday for the Lakes Tournament.