Lockport tops Oswego for first sectional title in 20 years

BOLINGBROOK – For the Lockport girls volleyball team, it was 20 years in the making. But for this season’s group of Porters, it was worth a year’s wait to get this.

Using their height to perfection, the Porters did what few others have this season. They neutralized the Oswego attack. The result was a 25-21, 25-21 victory over the Panthers on Thursday evening in the title match of the Class 4A Bolingbrook Sectional.

It’s the first sectional championship for Lockport (34-5) since winning a Class AA in 2004. Oswego (32-5) was playing in its first sectional title match in school history.

The Porters will face Downers Grove South, a 25-13, 23-25, 25-21 winner over Downers Grove North, on Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Riverside-Brookfield Supersectional. It will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Lockport, which is 10-2 in three-set matches, won the previous three in three sets with the third set being decided by two points in the past two.

“It’s amazing,” Lockport senior libero Sadie Denk said. “Especially coming back from last year’s loss (25-18, 25-14 to Joliet West) in the sectional final. We knew what we had to do coming in and we did it.”

What the Porters did was register seven blocks for points against an Oswego lineup that featured a pair of NCAA Division I outside hitters in Long Beach State recruit Sidney Hamaker and Western Michigan recruit Mia Jurkovic. Hamaker had seven kills and five digs and Jurkovic finished with three kills and five digs.

“We were committed to the game plan,” Lockport coach Nick Mraz said. “We had a great game plan to slow down their outside hitters. We did a good job with that, having seven terminating blocks. That’s excellent in a two-set match. We knew their opposites and middles would get a few kills, but we were OK with that.”

At every key juncture, the Porters made a play or Oswego committed an error. There were five early ties in the opener before the Panthers pulled away to a 14-11 lead. But an apparent kill was nullified by a net violation which started a 4-0 run and Lockport never trailed again.

With the score tied 16-16, 6-foot-2 middle hitter Jenna Kolosta (six kills, three blocks, five digs) had a trio of kills and a block in a 6-2 spurt. Ahead 23-21, 6-foot junior outside hitter Bridget Ferriter (six kills, block) had a pair of kills, including the final one rolling off the top of the tape and falling over, to take the opener.

“It feels amazing and we knew we could do it,” Kolosta said. “Oswego has some really good players. At the end of the day, I couldn’t do what I do without the team. We all do it.”

The Panthers jumped to a 9-5 lead in the second set. But Lockport locked down in the middle as 6-foot-3 sophomore middle hitter Kyla Mitchell (four kills, two blocks) had two blocks and a kill to start a 6-1 spurt. With the score tied 13-13, senior outside hitter Emily McGraw (seven kills) had a pair of kills and Kolosta redirected a kill at the net and added a block in a 7-2 burst for a 20-15 advantage.

Amelia Mosley, a sophomore defensive specialist, served an ace to draw Oswego within 21-20. But the Panthers didn’t help themselves with three net violations and two service errors in the second set. The Porters prevailed as Kolosta and McGraw had the final two kills to end the 20-year drought.

“It felt crazy,” McGraw said of getting the match winner. “It’s a 6-person job out there but the last one (kill) is the best one. This team just has a lot of grit. My goal, as well as the whole team, was to get the sectional this season. We show up every day, we focus and we get the job done.”

Sophomore setters Natalie Bochantin (15 assists) and Malley Green (10 assists, three digs), as well as Denk (six digs), were big for the Porters, who have five seniors but eight sophomores.

Sophomore middle blocker, Hannah Herrick (six kills), senior opposite-side hitter Kelsey Foster (four kills, seven digs), senior setter Ava Flanigan (16 assists), and senior libero Alexis Terrazas (five digs) all contributed for the Panthers, who lost to Lockport 25-23, 25-18 in the sectional semifinals. last year and were playing in their fifth-ever sectional.

“We talked that our game plan was to put pressure on them and force them into mistakes,” Oswego coach Gary Mosley said. “But they flipped it on us. They were camping on Sid and had a 3-block on her. They played great on defense and credit to them.”

The Panthers went 11-0 and won the Southwest Prairie Conference title this season.

“We have great young ladies here,” Mosley said. “It all starts with their families and we left a legacy here at Oswego. We all talked about embracing the ride of the season. I’ll forever be grateful for the ride they gave me.”

Lockport was playing in its 28th sectional and this is the 12th sectional title in school history. The first 11 came between 1981 and 2004.

“It’s an accomplishment that’s taken years to build,” said Mraz, who took over the program in 2015. “You start establishing a culture at the freshmen level and it’s truly a team and program effort.

“The quality of the girls and their families has just been great. It’s been a blast this season and it’s a proud moment.”