Naperville North defeats Oak Park-River Forest 2-1; Enter State semi-final: High School Volleyball
Naperville North boys volleyball team was successful in beating Oak Park-River Forest on Friday to enter into the state semi-finals.
Despite the fact that Oak Park challenged the Huskies, they were unable to match the skillful performance that Naperville North was able to put up to seal the deal at 2-1. The only time that Oak Park came close enough to have a chance at the match was by
winning the second set. When the match had finally reached its close, the final set scores were 25-17, 23-25 and 25-19.
“I think we were a little nervous, but I don’t think we played nervous,” North senior Shane Witmer said. “We have nothing else to prove, besides to ourselves. We weren’t expected to be here. We thought we’d be here, but no one expected us to go this far,
so it’s almost like we have nothing to lose.”
With their recent win, the Huskies have been able to improve their overall season number of wins to 23 while keeping their losses at a relatively seven. In contrast to this, the defeat that has put a halt to the progress of OPRF has added to the already
12 defeats that they had while their victories stand at 27.
After the start of the first set of the game, the Huskies had little trouble in taking charge. OPRF did not give enough competition to the Huskies to destabilize their dominating position. Once the Huskies had the lead, OPRF could not close in the gap. As
a result, the opening set of the game was easily bagged by the Huskies at 25-17.
It seemed as if winning the initial set had the Huskies resting on their laurels. The Huskies made a total of 12 errors in the entire second set that effectively shifted the momentum to OPRF. Grabbing the opportunity that the Huskies threw their way, OPRF
did not take long in stepping up and winning the second set at 25-23.
Winning the second game gave a motivation boost to OPRF and they positioned themselves well by taking the lead early on in the third set at 5-1. Seeing the danger that the Huskies were in, their coach Nate Bornancin called for a time out to break the stride
of OPRF early before they got into a flow. The trick worked and North was finally back in the game after OPRF made a service error. Once they had the lead, North did not look back. However, OPRF was able to bring the match close at 15-12. But North was unstoppable
and they went on to secure themselves the third and final set of the game at 25-19.
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