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homerhorizondaily.com sports
the homer horizon | November 14, 2019 | 37
Girls Volleyball
Lockport battles in sectional semi against Sandburg
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
It was a season to remember
for the Lockport
Township girls volleyball
team.
With a second-straight
regional championship,
and going down to the wire
in the conference championship
race, the Porters
gave everything they had
this season.
But, in the end, they fell
just short in a three-set battle
with eventual sectional
champion Sandburg. That
was on Nov. 4, where the
Eagles emerged with a 25-
23, 21-25, 25-13 victory
in the opening semifinal
of the Class 4A Sandburg
Sectional.
The Eagles then defeated
District 230 rival Andrew
25-17, 25-17 on Nov. 6 in
the sectional title match.
Sandburg (34-5 thorough
Nov. 6) played two-time
defending Class 4A state
champion Marist on Friday,
Nov. 8, at the Eisenhower
Supersectional.
Lockport (26-12) wondered
what could have
been but still had a great
season.
“In 2018, we finished
with a record of 28-10
and won our first regional
championship since 2011,”
Lockport coach Nick Mraz
said. “We did that all with
only two seniors, so I
knew we had the potential
to be dangerous this year. I
made our schedule tougher
for 2019, so although we
finished 26-12, it wasn’t
like we didn’t perform as
well as 2018.
“In fact, there were moments
during the season
where I said to myself,
‘This is the best a Lockport
team has played since
I’ve been here.”
Lockport’s Morgan Schmutzler competes during the opening semifinal Nov. 4 against Sandburg at the Class 4A Sandburg Sectional.
Jeff Vorva/22nd Century Media
Senior outside hitter
Taylor Morgan, a threeyear
varsity veteran,
agreed.
“There’s so much to remember,”
Morgan said.
“The connections with the
girls and everything. We
had a rewarding season. It
was just great being a part
of our growth.”
Morgan did her part
in her final high school
match, as she had nine
kills. Junior oppositeside
hitter Nadia Goich
also added nine kills and
nine digs. Sophomore setter
Dovile Gorys was her
steady self with 18 assists,
14 digs and a pair of aces.
Sandburg was paced
by junior right-side hitter
Keegan Carey (10 kills),
four-year libero Rachel
Krasowski (25 digs) and
senior setter Hailey Farrell.
It was the Eagles’ third
victory over Lockport this
season. The others were by
the scores of 25-21, 25-23
on Aug. 31 in the quarterfinal
of the Plinfield North
Invite, and then 25-21, 25-
20 on Oct. 16 in the teams’
SouthWeast Suburban
Conference Blue Division
matchup in Orland Park.
“It’s tough to beat a good
team three times,” Sandburg
coach David Vales
said. “It was a big battle
that went three sets. Give
the Porters credit. But we
were able to make adjustments
on the fly.”
With the Eagles up 11-8
in the third set, Carey had
two kills and a block in a
5-0 run which put them
ahead 16-8. That was it,
as Sandburg coasted to the
victory.
The ending was anticlimactic
compared to the
first two sets. Lockport led
the opener 19-15, but the
Eagles rallied for a 5-0 run
behind senior outside hitter
Shelby Stefanon to take
the lead. Then, the Porters
forged a tie at 23-23 but
had a net violation and a
hit out of bounds.
The second set was
tied at 16-16. Then, the
Porters, who finished the
season with a 5-6 record
in three-set matches after
losing their first four of
that length, pulled away,
as Sandburg made some
hitting errors.
“I feel we were playing
well and connecting,”
Morgan said of the Porters
in the match. “Everyone
was giving 100 percent.
Between the second and
third set, we knew we
could do it. Our mindset
was that we were ready to
go. But [the Eagles] just
stepped up at the end.
“It was intense playing
on their court with all the
people there. That was the
largest crowd that I played
against.”
Lockport graduates
eight seniors. They are
Leena Ajibola, Emily
DeBlecourt, Nora Dykstra,
Hannah Knippenberg,
Morgan, Becca Oldendorf,
Kaitlyn Sadler and Morgan
Schmutzler.
“I still think the team
will be very good next
year,” Morgan said. “They
will still have a lot of
height and a lot of skilled
players. Plus, they will
have a lot of good incoming
players.”
Mraz, who is a 2007
Sandburg graduate, completed
his fifth season as
the Porters girls coach. He
is also the boys coach at the
school, and the girls completed
their fourth-straight
season of 20 wins or more.
With a lot of lower-level
talent, that streak of success
should continue next fall.
“Taking down Joliet
West for the regional championship
was a match I will
never forget,” Mraz said of
the Porters’ 25-15, 14-25,
30-28 win on Oct. 31 at
home. “That gave us backto-back
regional championships
for the first time
since 2005/2006. We had
a wonderful group of girls
who were always willing
to listen and work hard. We
will miss our eight seniors
but still have high expectations
going into next year
with our returning varsity
girls joining an undefeated
SWSC JV squad.”