There was not much that separated No. 1 Watseka and No. 4 Grant Park early on in Thursday’s Class 1A Grant Park regional championship game, but when it mattered most, Watseka’s experience came through.

Both teams split the first two sets, with the top-seeded Warriors taking the first one, 26-24 and the Dragons claiming the second, 25-23. In a chaotic third set, Watseka finished the deal 25-21 to punch its ticket to sectionals where it will play Lexington in the Class 1A Watseka sectional semifinals on Tuesday.

“That was a true regional championship game,” Watseka head coach Krista Pufahl said. “It was ball-for-ball, it was pretty intense [throughout].”

The pressure was put on Watseka immediately. In the first set, Grant Park opened with a 3-0 lead, but Watseka would battle back and keep it close throughout the set. In a set that had five lead changes, the Warriors erased a late 23-21 Dragons lead thanks to a kill apiece from Gabby Kohl, Danica Lemenager and Sophia Kochvar and an ace by Liana Navas to take the set.

Kohl’s 12 kills on the night were second on the team to Thayren Rigsby’s 15, but the sophomore knew she had to come through when her team needed it most in her first-ever championship game.

“Every kill matters a lot to me, but specifically today, it was just such a big day, being my first varsity regional,” Kohl said. “I was so grateful that I was able to get some good hits tonight.”

Grant Park trailed 18-16 midway through the second set before 7-0 run comprised in part of Watseka errors and timely offense from Natalie Smiley, Taylor Panozzo and Adelyn Karstensen, all of whom tallied two kills in the set.

The intensity started to heighten heading into the third set, and the decisive set did not disappoint. The margin didn’t exceed three points until it was 20-16 Watseka after an ace by Noelle Schroeder. The Warriors had a 23-19 lead and looked like they were destined for victory.

Then Grant Park fought back. A kill and ace in back-to-back volleys by Panozzo pulled Grant Park closer at 24-21. Watseka called a timeout, regrouped, then the ensuing volley saw its experience shine, as Rigsby nailed a kill to send the Warriors to sectionals.

“It feels great,” Watseka senior Christa Hollohan said about winning regionals. “It feels good knowing that after the girls last year left, we might have been the underdogs. All the seniors have really stepped up this year and we went out and did our job.”

An impressive campaign ends for Grant Park, a season that saw a team with first-year head coach Caitlin Meyer have a winning season for the first time since 2022.

“I’m super proud of the work the girls have put in, super proud of how they played this season,” Meyer said. “I wanted to have a winning record, I wanted the girls to get better, and I wanted to win some games in the postseason.

“And we did exactly the job.”