Girls volleyball: Sidney Hamaker, Oswego rally past Romeoville, close in on first-ever conference title

OSWEGO – Oswego volleyball coach Gary Mosley preaches to his team the importance of a short-term memory on the court, hearkening a reference to the movie “Finding Nemo.”

“We tell them to be Dory,” Mosley said. “Just keep swimming. Have that short-term memory.”

[ Photos: Oswego vs. Romeoville volleyball ]

Sidney Hamaker practiced that philosophy Tuesday. And has the Panthers swimming in uncharted waters.

The 6-foot-2 junior outside hitter and Long Beach State recruit had a few errant shots in the early going of a pivotal match with Romeoville. But she was an absolute hammer when it mattered most.

Hamaker had 17 kills, two of which came on set point in the first set and at match point. Oswego fought off four set points in the first set and went on to beat visiting Romeoville 27-25, 25-22 to remain unbeaten in the Southwest Prairie Conference.

Oswego (27-5, 10-0) can win the first conference title in program history by winning at Joliet West Thursday.

“This match was definitely very intense,” Hamaker said. “Both sets were very close and we were down in both. It was really intense and hard to do but it felt so good to beat them. We’re one step closer.”

Hamaker also had a team-high 10 digs, Mia Jurkovic nine kills and nine digs, Kelsey Foster five kills and nine digs and Ava Flanigan 29 assists for Oswego. Eden Eyassu had seven kills, Demi Cole five kills, Alexis Crowley 12 digs, Lianna Oritz 11 digs and Kameron Blizniak 16 assists for Romeoville (24-10, 8-2).

Oswego trailed Romeoville 24-21 in the first set after an Eyassu kill. But the Panthers tied it at 24-24 on a Romeoville net violation following a Hamaker kill. The Spartans got to set point for the fourth time at 25-24 on an Oswego error, but a Hamaker kill turned it away. An ace by Alexis Terrazas got Oswego to set point, and Hamaker put it away with her 10th kill of the set.

“We just had to play our game,” Hamaker said. “We knew we were the better team going in and we had to play like the better team, stay connected.”

Indeed, Oswego overcame 10 errors in the first set.

“We felt it. We said it in the timeout,” Mosley said. “I even yelled at them on the court to quit earning their points and start earning ours. They responded so well, and that’s what I love about them. We got down a little bit but they didn’t get discouraged by the moment.”

Hamaker led the way in putting aside early adversity and delivering in the clutch.

“There’s nothing you can do about the plays you’ve made,” Hamaker said. “Your only choice is to move on, you can’t dwell in the past. That doesn’t do anybody any good. Move on, know you’re better than the mistake you made.”

Oswego jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second set, but again found itself trailing Romeoville, this time 17-13 after a kill by Taylor Cicero.

But Hamaker had three kills during a 6-2 run, her hammer from the back row tying it at 19-19.

“She was unbelievable tonight,” Mosley said. “That has been something she has been working on, is keeping emotions in check and doing the right thing at the right time and not letting the moment get to her. She has got over that hurdle so well.”

A Jurkovic kill gave Oswego the lead for good at 23-22.

Hamaker and Jurkovic combined to produce just over half of Oswego’s points, which disappointed Romeoville coach Paige Reinert.

“We’ve been working on stopping big outsides and I don’t feel like we did that tonight,” Reinert said. “We kind of let those two outsides, who are very good, carry their team. We normally establish our middles much more and we did not tonight.”

The Spartans, coming off a win over Joliet West Saturday, missed out on a shot at a conference title. But big picture, Reinert sees many positives. Romeoville, like Oswego, has smashed the program record for wins this season.

“Really proud of them,” Reinert said. “I have a really great setter, she is calm and collected on the court. My two middles are usually very explosive and fun to watch. My sophomore outsides are firecrackers and my libero, her coverage is phenomenal. They jell so much and they just work hard. They’re in the gym even on days I tell them to rest.”

No rest for Oswego, which plays at Joliet West Thursday in a match to decide the conference title. Oswego leads Joliet West by one game, but a tiebreaker scenario would be decided by the head-to-head matchup.

“We’ll go give them heck and get after it,” Mosley said. “Let the chips fall where they may.”