Lockport‘s volleyball team endured plenty of anxious moments during Monday’s supersectional volleyball match.

But the result?

Well, that produced a different emotion.

“I’m, like, exhilarated,” libero Emma Consigny said with excitement. “My face is really red from us working really hard. It was really exciting.”

“It” being the supersectional victory over Oak Park-River Forest at Hinsdale Central. The final score was 27-25, 25-22, although Lockport trailed for long stretches of the first match and was down 22-21 in the second before earning the win.

As Consigny, coach Nick Mraz and anyone else on the Porters’ squad would attest, it wasn’t easy. Ultimately, however, Lockport is heading back to the state tournament for the second consecutive year.

Historically, Lockport is no stranger to major success at the biggest of stages. From 1990-1999, the Porters made the state tournament seven times, winning it all in 1993. However, after qualifying in 1999, Lockport didn’t make it back until last season. The trip to state was the first for Mraz since taking over as coach in 2015.

Mraz feels that the experience of going to Illinois State last year helped the team in the championship moments like Monday. He also feels it should benefit them this weekend as they try to improve on their third-place finish last season.

“The majority of this group has been down there,” Mraz said. “We won’t be shell-shocked walking onto (CEFCU) Arena. We’ve kind of been there, done that. Now we can go there and still soak it in, but still be ready to get to work and try to make some memories down there.”

Lockport carries four seniors on the roster, outside hitter Bridget Ferriter chief among them as a contributor. She was a big part of last year’s group as well, but has been on a different level this postseason. She put up 20 kills against Joliet West in the sectional championship match before adding 11 against the Huskies.

Key juniors are making this run happen as well. Hutsyn Timosciek has been outstanding all year, with a team leading 326 kills, including the match-winner Monday. She says the making state last year aided the team not just in terms of experience, but also in terms of motivation.

“It was so fun last year,” Timosciek said. “There were so many new experiences, and it just made us want to go back. I believe and know we can do this, so we just have to see.”

None of this means there won’t be nerves, of course. Timosciek, Consigny and others acknowledged the Porters started a little tense Monday. They said the same thing following the sectional title match against Joliet West, too, after dropping the first set only to win the next two against the Tigers.

That’s something this team has managed to do throughout the year. They’ve shown resiliency time and again.

Even during a stretch late in the season when they were missing Ferriter, they usually found ways to win. Even when they dropped three games in five matches in late October, it didn’t deter them. One of those matches was the championship match of the Lincoln-Way Central Tournament. They found a way to get there even amidst adversity.

Lockport has learned how to do something all good championship teams know how to do: Survive.

“This has always been a steady, calm and poised group,” Mraz said. “Obviously, the experience from last year helps, but we have a lot of new girls contributing that could easily get stage fright. But they’re getting that experience now and handling it with poise throughout.”

Consigny also noted that some new faces on this year’s team may not have the same nerves of steel just yet. But as Timosciek pointed out, the drive to take home the first state title for the Porters in 22 years is there. There are enough veterans on this team leading those younger ones with last year in mind, and as Mraz said, the new ones are getting to feel it now.

To the Porters, the belief and knowledge are already there. Now, it’s just about making it happen.

“Once you have that experience under your belt, it’s an advantage you have over most of the teams you’ll play,” Ferriter said. “The experience helps us stay calm under pressure because we know what it takes and we know we can do it.”

The Porters play Benet at 7 p.m. Friday in the semifinals at CEFCU Arena in Normal. The state championship match is at 8:55 p.m. Saturday.