Lockport rallies past Downers Grove South to reach first volleyball state tournament in 28 years

RIVERSIDE – It seemed like Monday’s supersectional match at Riverside Brookfield was a meeting of two opposite kind of teams.

On one side, the Lockport Porters, who entered the match with only five losses on the season. They were the top seed and eventual champions of the Bolingbrook Sectional.

On the opposite side, Downers Grove South. The third seed of the Willowbrook Sectional, the Mustangs (26-13) knocked off second-seeded York and top seed Downers Grove North to win the sectional championship and set up Monday’s match.

A team favored to reach the state tournament most of the season against one not expected to make it this far. Two opposites and one spot left for the Class 4A state tournament.

For the first time in 28 years, that “one” is the Lockport Porters.

The Porters overcame a slow start, dominated the second set and squeezed out a decisive third set to defeat the Mustangs 23-25, 25-9, 25-22 to win the Class 4A Riverside-Brookfield Supersectional. Lockport now is going to the 4A state tournament for the first time since 1996.

Lockport (35-5) snapped a drought for the second straight season after making the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004 last season. Monday was their first appearance in the Elite Eight since 1999. Now they’ll try to make their first state title game since winning the only state championship in program history in 1993.

“It was a game of runs and momentum,” Lockport coach Nick Mraz said. “Taking the second set the way that we did and forcing them to call timeout first in the third set kept the pressure on them. We’ve been in so many of these situations before. We’re 11-2 now in third sets, so we’ve been against the ropes time and time again and they always get the job done.”

It was close to start before a 4-1 run by Downers Grove South put the Mustangs ahead 8-4 in the first set. A timeout by Mraz righted the ship, as the Porters went on their own 5-1 run to tie the set at 9 in the blink of an eye.

A kill by Jayda Dixon pulled the Mustangs ahead again and they grew the lead to three once again, 15-12. Back-to-back kills by Emily McGraw and Hutsyn Timosciek later pulled the Porters within 17-16 before three straight points edged DGS back ahead.

The advantage the rest of the set was 7-5 Porters, but the Mustang advantage prior to that was too great as a final kill by Sylvia Masiulionis won it 25-23.

Set 2 saw Lockport jump out to a 11-2 advantage, carrying the momentum from the end of the first set. Three straight points by the Mustangs cut the deficit, but the Porters immediately got back on track, growing the advantage to 13-7 before rattling off seven unanswered and eventually winning 25-9.

Set 3 started as intensely as expected. Both teams traded blows en route to an 8-7 Downers Grove South lead. Four consecutive points started by Bridget Ferriter’s block put Lockport ahead 11-8. DGS continued to battle, however, with the two teams eventually becoming tied at 17.

After the score reached 19-all, a kill by Ferriter and an error by DGS made it 21-19 Lockport, forcing a DGS timeout. They traded points, leading to a 24-22 Lockport edge when a kill by Jenna Kolosta ended the game and the Mustang’s season with a 25-22 win.

Lockport was led by McGraw (eight kills, two blocks), Sadie Denk (27 digs), Timosciek (11 kills) and Ferriter (12 kills, 14 digs, three aces). DGS was led by Masiulionis (10 kills), Lauren Curran (eight kills, eight digs), Dixon (eight kills, 13 digs), Keegan O’Keefe (17 digs) and Alex Barcenas (26 assists).

DGS coach Madisen Babich joked that the Mustangs referred to their postseason run as a revenge tour after they lost to York and DGN in the regular season. While four seniors depart, 10 players return for the Mustangs.

“All 14 of my girls maintained the playoff mindset of, ‘Why not us?’, ” Babich said. “We didn’t have the confidence all season, but we’ve had the confidence rolling for a while. None of them wanted the season to end, and that’s what kept us going. Those four seniors came in with me when I took over the program, and I’ll appreciate them forever. The returning 10 will remember this moment and keep it going.”

As for the Porters, the play Marist on Friday night in Normal. Ferriter said victory simply hinges on doing what they already know how to do.

“We just need to maintain our consistency,” she said. “You can’t have the highest of highs and lowest of lows. You have to keep it even.”