After finishing second at last season’s Moldenhauer Classic, tournament host Bradley-Bourbonnais came up just short of a trip to the 2025 title match on Saturday.

After splitting a pair of close sets with Prairie Central, the Boilermakers dropped the third set 17-15. But they bounced back in the third-place match, ending a close third set with Belleville West on a 3-0 run to take it 15-12.

This Moldenhauer Classic experience was the final one for Bradley-Bourbonnais senior Jamisen Parker, who said hosting these kind of events is always a good time.

“For a tournament like this, being the host team is really exciting,” she said. “Seeing how much energy we bring, and seeing all the different opponents we might not see in conference, it’s broadening our view of people.

“I love showing up to these tournaments, and we show up and show out.”

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Bradley-Bourbonnais' Ella Haas tips the ball over Joliet Central players during their match at the Moldenhauer Classic tournament on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Overall, the tournament served as a solid primer for the upcoming postseason for the 12 teams that attended.

Some came from as near as the surrounding Kankakee County area and the southwest suburbs of Chicago with others coming from the Champaign-Urbana area, as far west as the Quad Cities and as far south as the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The classic is named after longtime Bradley-Bourbonnais volleyball coach Darla Moldenhauer, who became the program’s first head coach in 1973 and led the Boilermakers to one successful season after another over the next three decades.

Moldenhauer also coached and served as a mentor for current head coach Leigh Reiniche, who said getting to host the tournament is an honor for her and the program.

“This is a great tournament, not only for coach Moldenhauer and being a part of BBCHS, but the competition that comes with it right before postseason,” Reiniche said. “It’s being able to see people that we don’t normally see: nonconference teams, teams that are willing to travel an hour or two hours to come get this experience and get them ready for the regional.”

As for its experience on the court Saturday, Bradley-Bournonnais opened the day with a 25-10, 25-12 win over Momence.

Things would be much closer in the three matches after that, starting with a three-set battle with Joliet Central that saw the two teams split the first two sets, both with a score of 25-24, before the Boilermakers held on the take a long third set 17-15 to advance to the championship pool.

The close battles after that against Prairie Central and Belleville West assured the Boilermakers faced plenty of solid competition with regionals less than two weeks away.

For a team with just four seniors on the roster, three of which are returning with varsity experience, and a large crop of newcomers rounding the roster out, this season has seen those younger players bank valuable varsity experience.

Harper Yuska, the team leader in kills entering Saturday (144) and one of six sophomores gaining that varsity experience, said she feels the team has come a long way and hopes they can finish the year strong.

“I feel like we’ve all grown, and I feel like we’re a young team and doing great at the varsity level,” she said. “...I hope we just keep fighting. Bringing our energy and fighting.”

Bradley-Bourbonnais (20-12) will play both of its remaining regular season contests at home, the first being its Southwest Suburban Conference finale against Stagg on Tuesday followed by a senior night meeting with Champaign Central.

Among the other local representatives in the tournament, Beecher picked up a fifth-place finish with a 25-21, 25-27, 15-9 win over St. Joseph Ogden. Kankakee finished eighth, closing its afternoon with a loss to Joliet Central.

Wilmington bounced back from losses to Prairie Central and Beecher in its first two matches, closing out the day with a pair of straight-set wins over Momence and Rock Island to place ninth overall. Momence finished in 12th place.