Once the sectional finals roll around for volleyball, it feels a little redundant to say, “it was a highly anticipated game.” To say “it was a matchup of two great teams” seems self-evident.

Still, the Joliet West Sectional championship was a matchup of two truly tremendous teams.

The host Tigers entered with just three losses on the season and none in their previous 19 games. Lockport entered with just seven losses, three of which came during an injury riddled six game stretch against some of the top teams in the state. These were truly the two best 4A teams in the area. It was almost too bad someone had to lose.

Unless you’re a Porters fan.

In a match that somehow managed to deliver on the hype that preceded it, Lockport and Joliet West went three sets with the Porters edging out the Tigers 21-25, 25-20, 25-21. Lockport now advances to the super sectional round for the second consecutive year.

The Porters (32-7) looked to have the first set locked up early as they built a 7-2 lead to start, but Joliet West did what they’ve done so well throughout the year: battled back. Lockport didn’t let the early slippage deter them, however, as they were mostly in control the rest of the night, albeit by a razor thin margin.

Razor thin was all they needed to be in order to get the win on Joliet West’s home court.

“After letting that lead slip away in the first set we knew we had to answer,” Lockport coach Nick Mraz said. “We had to answer the bell on (Joliet West’s) home floor. The crowd we had was flippin’ awesome. We were ecstatic to reverse sweep them.”

It was an outstanding effort from the Porters in general, but Bridget Ferriter had one of the best individual efforts of anyone in the 4A playoffs. The junior finished with and astonishing 19 kills as well as two blocks to lead the way.

Hutsyn Timosciek (11 kills), Natalie Bochantin (29 assists, nine digs) and Emma Consigny (eight digs, two aces) also put up excellent efforts.

“Bridget Ferriter stepped up and had a Hell of a night,” Mraz said. “All of our girls stayed locked in. Mary Donnelly came in as a sub and stuck passes. You could feel them momentum switch when they started easing back from the service line and popped it over. We capitalized and it was awesome.”

Don’t let the final result take away from how outstanding the season was for Joliet West (35-4). They were rarely challenged during the 19 game win streak and that was in large part due to the contributions of their seven seniors.

Lina Govoni, Mady Gant, Eden Eyassu and Lola Berta played nearly every set this season and were remarkable. Faith Jordan, Emma Salerno and Emma Barelli contributed throughout the year as well. Coach Chris Lincoln couldn’t say enough about his group of seniors.

“It’s been a privilege coaching them,” Lincoln said. “This is my fourth year coaching them and my goal was to put Joliet West on the map when I got here. I wanted Joliet West to be a team you didn’t want to see on the schedule. I’ve had this group start to finish and they helped make that happen. I’m very proud of them.”

The cupboard is far from bare for West. Lexie Grevengoed, Julia Adams, Nariah Autman and others will be back next year to try and make it to state. Lincoln expressed confidence in that group’s ability to keep the Tigers’ success going.

Though he also hopes they give themselves a break for a bit.

“Those girls know how to work hard,” Lincoln said. “They don’t need much direction from me in the offseason. I think some of them are ready to step up into bigger leadership roles next year. I hope they do take some time for themselves, though, because they deserve it.”

As for Lockport, they’re just one win away from making it back to state after finishing third last year. They’ll take on Oak Park-River Forest on Monday at Hinsdale Central with a tip-off time of 7 p.m. Ferriter said the trick to making it to state is simple: Stay consistent.

“I think our consistency is key in the long run,” she said. “We’re very even keeled in the long run as a team. Our highs aren’t too high and our lows aren’t too low. That’s going to lead us to success in the long run.”