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SHABBONA – Hinckley-Big Rock dropped the first set of Monday’s Class 1A Indian Creek Regional quarterfinal against the host Timberwolves and were trailing 22-17 in the second set.
The Lady Royals had reason to panic.
Instead, they orchestrated a terrific comeback, rallying to win a close second set and then carrying that momentum into the decisive set where they prevailed for a final score of 17-25, 26-24, 25-18.
Hinckley-Big Rock (18-11) advances to take on Fulton in Wednesday’s regional semifinal.
“Sometimes it can be one single call or play that gets you going,” Lady Royals coach Jessica Bivins said. “I tell the girls all the time, I remind them every play in volleyball is only worth one point. You’ve got to stay consistent, especially if you’re down a little bit because it’s going to take some time to meet them at that number and then you need to get on top of them and get to 25 first.”
Indian Creek (17-15-2) could not have started the night much better. The Timberwolves raced to an 8-0 lead in the opening set behind senior Izzy Turner’s lengthy service run.
The Lady Royals trailed 24-13 but rattled off four straight points to pull within 24-17 which led to Indian Creek coach Matt Orstead calling a timeout.
“I knew with even how well the first set went that even towards the end we couldn’t give them any of bit of momentum,” he said. “I knew they were going to bring that into the second set.”
The Timberwolves used a 5-0 run to erase an early deficit and tie the second set at 13-13. A point from junior Cheyenne Buh put them ahead 22-17. They couldn’t finish off the set though. A few hitting errors along with an ace and a kill from senior Courtlyn Brockway forced a third set.
“This was exactly how they beat us in Hinckley,” Orstead said. “We were feeling a rhythm and then we started to pull away and maybe it was three points we got up and they started setting her (Brockway) and nobody else and it didn’t matter where she was on the court. And that’s what good hitters do and she’s one of the best hitters in the conference.
“I told my girls that she was going to score, it’s just a matter of limiting how much she scores. In the first set I thought we did well and even a little bit in the second set, but just a couple things down the stretch didn’t go our way. It felt like we had it, but we let it slip away.”
The Lady Royals never felt out of the game.
“We just got to keep the flow going and bring each other up energy-wise,” junior Anna Herrmann said. “I just feel like our team flows so well together. We’re always picking each other up out there. I never gave up. I always wanted to win and knew we could do it. We just had to put our energy in it.”
And they had to keep mentally strong.
“There were a lot of ups and downs but we just never gave up,” Brockway said. “It’s really a mental game. One point can really turn it around. The whole team stayed up for each other. We play as a team and that helps us cut into a deficit or keep our lead.”
Indian Creek also lost in three sets to Hinckley-Big Rock on Sept. 27.
“I think it stings because it is Hinckley,” Orstead said. “They’re one town over, they’re in our conference, all those things and we wanted to beat them so bad. But they got us. I can’t really say anything else other than they got us and when Courtney (Brockway) got going, I knew it.”
The Timberwolves will say goodbye to 10 senior players.
“We’re losing a lot, but I told them at the end there, I know this hurts, but the reality is you guys are going to go on to do so much bigger things than high school volleyball,” he said. “I hope that you made some memories and had a lot of fun.”
The Lady Royals live for another match, another night of excitement, and it’s on Halloween.
“We came out with a little effort and I was like, alright we can’t let that happen,” Bivins said. “I told them our only choice it put all our effort out there and they put it all out there and we came out with the win.”