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Belvidere North volleyball bows out against defending state champ

matt trowbridge, rockford register star
·2 min read

Large-school volleyball teams with no 6-footers are not supposed to win state trophies.

Belvidere North, though, never viewed its modest size as a disadvantage. Until it ran into 6-foot-3 Wisconsin recruit Addy Horner on Friday night.

Horner led defending state champion Wheaton St. Francis to a 25-8, 25-20 victory over the Blue Thunder in the Class 3A Anticoh Supersectional.

St. Francis (31-8) now plays Morton in the state semifinals Friday, aiming for a 14th state championship.

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"They are a juggernaut. They are an absolute juggernaut in the volleyball world," Belvidere North coach Amanda Hicks said.

Belvidere North, which won its sixth NIC-10 title in seven years, finishes 30-7. This was the Blue Thunder's fourth 30-win season and third time they have won a sectional title, all since 2018 under coach Hicks.

But it simply had a hard time putting the ball away against a much taller team. Bree Messenger, a 5-9 senior outside hitter, led the Blue Thunder with three kills and four digs. Kylie Swenson, a 5-10 junior, added two kills and three digs and Riley Johnson had one kill and one block.

Belvidere North's Riley Johnson, shown spiking the ball against Hononegah on Sept. 26, 2023, at Belvidere North High School, had one kill and one block Friday in North's Class 3A supersectional loss to defending state champ Wheaton St. Francis.
Belvidere North's Riley Johnson, shown spiking the ball against Hononegah on Sept. 26, 2023, at Belvidere North High School, had one kill and one block Friday in North's Class 3A supersectional loss to defending state champ Wheaton St. Francis.

That was not enough firepower against a defending state champion team led by Horner, who had four straight aces two nights earlier and served 12 straight points to break open what had been a tight sectional title game. Her serves also broke open the first set against Belvidere North.

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"She went on a run early in set one against us," Hicks said. "She pushed us back. I am not sure how many she served in a row, but I took two timeouts in the middle of her serving streak."

Although North bowed out Friday, the Blue Thunder became locally dominant again by going undefeated in the NIC-10 and reaching supersectionals a year after not winning a playoff match.

"I don't think many people, including ourselves, thought we would be in a supersectional," Hicks said. "After last year, we wanted to win conference again, bring that back home. After that, we just wanted to see what we could do.

"It was a fun ride. A really fun ride."

Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Wheaton St. Francis beats Belvidere North in 3A volleyball playoffs