Hononegah ends DeKalb volleyball’s season in straight sets

HAMPSHIRE – Hononegah ended DeKalb’s season in the Class 4A Hampshire Regional’s second semifinal match Tuesday, downing the Barbs in straight sets, 25-15, 25-16.

Despite the season-ending defeat, DeKalb coach Keith Foster did have some positive takeaways from the match.

“Tonight we left it all on the court. We just did not have the firepower tonight to battle, but I noticed that we started and ended as a team,” Foster said. “They never disbanded. There were some tough stretches where Hononegah had some long runs, but there wasn’t a moment where any one of us became an individual versus staying a team.”

The Barbs – the fifth seed in the McHenry Class 4A Sectional – ended the season with a 16-20 record.

The third seeded Indians (28-8) will be looking to capture a fourth regional title in a row Thursday when they battle Hampshire (second seed, 28-7) in the championship match. The Whip-Purs down sixth-ranked Rockford Jefferson in two sets, 25-8, 25-11 in Tuesday’s first semifinal contest.

“We’re excited for the challenge and hope to play well on Thursday,” Hononegah coach Kaylee Libby said.

Jumping out to 7-2 lead, the Indians started to pull away early in the first set. The Barbs rallied and tied the match 9-9 on a Hononegah hitting error.

Momentum returned to the Indians’ side of the court, though, as they went on a 9-3 run. A Sydney Myles kill and a block and spike by Jordan Grant broke the run and pulled the Barbs within three, 18-15. The Indians closed out the match on another Grant kill, scoring seven points to DeKalb’s one.

The Barbs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set, but after Hononegah tied the contest at 3-3 on a Lili Fox kill, the Indians gradually pulled away.

Fox led all players with 10 kills. Myles notched four kills for the Barbs, while Grant tallied three.

“We’re a young team, so I thought we got caught up in the moment too much,” said DeKalb senior captain Taylor Lupton. “But we left it all out on the floor, and we tried our very best. That’s all you can ask for.”

“This entire season was a huge step forward for our program,” Foster said. “We made huge strides as a program in culture, competitiveness, focusing on success and things that matter. That was probably the biggest thing that I noticed.”

DeKalb took top honors in two tournaments this season.

“We were champions of the Streamwood Invite as well the Stillman Valley Invite, beating strong programs such as Lena-Winslow, so those are definitely season-highs,” Foster said.