The Montini Catholic girls volleyball team’s season ended with a 25-23, 25-18 loss to Geneva in the IHSA Class 3A St. Francis Sectional’s championship match in Wheaton on Nov. 5.
The Broncos completed their season with a 28-11 record. The Vikings of Geneva advanced to the Timothy Christian Super-sectional, where they faced Lake Forest on Nov. 9. Geneva won that super-sectional matchup to advance to the IHSA Class 3A state semifinals in Normal. The two Class 3A state semifinal matches will be played on Friday, Nov. 13. The third-place and state-championship matches will be contested on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Montini advanced to the St. Francis Sectional after winning the title at the Trinity Regional in River Forest and claiming a regional championship plaque for the third straight season. The Broncos then earned a spot in the Nov. 5 sectional final after beating Wheaton Academy 25-14, 25-18 in the first semifinal match at St. Francis on Nov. 3. Geneva and Timothy Christian took the court immediately after Montini beat Wheaton Academy. Geneva beat the Trojans of Timothy Christian 25-15, 25-22 in the evening’s second semifinal match.
Geneva led Montini 20-16 in the first game of the sectional final. The Broncos chipped away at the Vikings’ lead, cutting it to 21-20. After a Geneva timeout, the Vikings won the next point to take a 22-20 lead. Montini then won the next two points to tie the score at 22-22. Geneva won the following point to take a 23-22 lead. Montini responded by winning the next point to even the score at 23-23. Geneva claimed the next two points to win the opening game.
The Vikings jumped to an early 7-2 lead in the sectional final’s second game. Montini trimmed the lead to 8-6, but Geneva won the next three points to take an 11-6 lead and push the Broncos to call a timeout. The Vikings expanded their lead to 16-8, pushing Montini to call another timeout.
Geneva owned leads of 19-10 and 21-12 in the second game. A couple of aces from Montini junior Micaela Haggerty sliced the Vikings’ lead to 21-16 and caused Geneva to call a timeout. The Broncos won the next point to cut the lead to 21-17, but the Vikings won the next two points to build a 23-17 advantage. Montini won the next point, but Geneva won the following two points to end the match.
“It was a great season overall for our program, finishing 28-11,” said Montini coach Erik Vogt after the loss to the Vikings. “Congratulations to Geneva; they played really well.”
