Hononegah had 5 match points to earn a trip to the IHSA boys volleyball state finals
No NIC-10 boys volleyball team has ever made it to state.
Still.
But no league team — perhaps in any sport — came as close as previously unbeaten Hononegah did Tuesday night.
Hononegah couldn’t convert on five match points in the second set of the Gurnee Warren Sectional finals. Then in the third set Hononegah came from behind by winning eight points in a row and eventually got within three points of a state berth before falling 19-25, 28-26, 25-23 to Libertyville.
Hononegah (26-1) had dropped only three sets all year, one each to Oswego, Jefferson and Glenbrook South. Hono had beaten Vernon Hills in the semifinals on Saturday to record the first sectional victory by any NIC-10 team in the sport’s short six-year history.
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Libertyville (21-13) advanced to play Oak Park River Foreston 11:30 a.m. Friday in the state quarterfinals at Hoffman Estates. The semifinals and finals are on Saturday.
Hononegah did not make any mistakes to lose that four-point lead after back-to-back kills put Hono within one point of state. Libertyville tied the score at 24 with four straight winners, according to the Daily Herald: two kills from outside hitter Patrick Akers, an ace and a middle block. Only at 26-all did Hononegah finally err, hitting two shots out of bounds to give Libertyville the set 28-26.
In the final set, Hononegah was within three points of state, leading 22-20, when Libertyville rallied again. The final two points were by Libertyville’s two biggest stars, another kill by Akers and a block by Chase Bonder. Akers finished with 12 kills and Bonder had seven kills and 13 blocks, according to the Daily Herald.
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at mtrowbridge@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @MattTrowbridge. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: One point short: Hononegah boys volleyball just misses IHSA state trip
