Newark volleyball falls just short in 3-set sectional semifinal loss to Stockton

POLO — The Newark girls volleyball team gave it everything it had in Tuesday’s Class 1A Polo Sectional semifinal against one of the state’s top teams in Stockton.

The Norsemen (25-11) captured a back-and-forth open set, but the Blackhawks (35-2) came back to win the final two to advance with a thrilling 22-25, 25-17, 25-23 victory.

“I had scouted Stockton a few times and they’ve only lost two times all season and both were to Galena who is the defending state champ that have their two best hitters back this season,” Newark coach P.J. McKinney said. “I knew they’d be solid; they play nearly mistake free and they keep the ball in play defensively so well. They’re a team we knew going in we were just going to have to battle with point for point.”

Newark was led by seniors Adrianna Larsen (13 kills, 20 digs), Addison Ness (eight kills, nine digs) and Elle Norquist (27 digs), with sophomore Taylor Jeffers posting 34 assists and eight digs.

The opening set saw both teams struggle to hold the momentum throughout, but it was Newark that held it last to earn a one-set advantage.

“The first set was one where if it wasn’t trading points, it was one team scoring a couple points in a row and the other coming back to do the same thing,” McKinney said. “There weren’t any long service runs, maybe three at the most. It was sideout volleyball. We were able to be the team that had the last of those mini runs to win the set.”

The second set didn’t go as smoothly for the Norsemen as a few too many miscues helped Stockton send the match to a third and deciding set.

“We didn’t play as mistake free as we needed to while Stockton continued to play steady,” McKinney said. “We had seven or eight hitting errors, and we were down 14-4 before we knew it. I think we cut it to 20-13 at one point, but we just couldn’t get any momentum.”

The Norsemen were back in form in the third set and held a late lead before the Blackhawks were able to put together one final burst.

“The final set for us was about everything you could ask for going against one of the top 1A teams in the state,” McKinney said. “We would get a three- or four-point lead, and they come right back to tie it. Then they would take a two- or three-point lead, and we’d tie it. We were up 23-21, they called their last time out and out of it we just couldn’t score again.

“We were right there; it could have gone either way and it just didn’t work out. Even though the decision didn’t go our way it was a great match. I couldn’t be prouder of how the girls battled. They had a fantastic season.”

The season saw Newark win a seventh straight regional title, along with an eighth consecutive Little Ten Conference tournament title and the regular-season championship for a 15th time in a row.