Hononegah boys volleyball team shows unusual flair as it chases history
ROCKFORD — Hononegah doesn’t look like any other boys volleyball team in NIC-10 history. Sometimes it can even look like a soccer team. Lorenzo Boccarusso, a foreign exchange student from Rome, kept alive a ball with his foot in Thursday’s Boylan Regional finals.
Twice.
“It must be some Italian stuff,” 6-foot-6 Hononegah junior Braydon Savitski-Lynde said. “No one from America does that ever. It’s crazy. He’s so talented.”
Hononegah is loaded with talent, becoming the first NIC-10 team to ever go unbeaten during the regular season. And beating Fox Lake Grant 25-19, 25-19 to win regionals Thursday. But Boccarusso gives them a little added flair, showing kick saves aren’t just for hockey.
“It’s amazing the different things he can do,” said Saul Minero, a 6-foot senior outside hitter. “He does it all the time at practice. It’s pretty funny. It keeps the ball up, which is amazing. I wish he could just get there, but it’s what we need at times.”
“Lorenzo,” coach Annie Curran said, “is one of a kind. He’s awesome.”
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The question now is: Can Hononegah be one of a kind?
Hononegah, the No. 1 seed, will now play No. 2 Vernon Hills 10 a.m. Saturday in the Gurnee Warren Sectional semifinals. If Hono wins Saturday, it would then play either No. 4 seed Libertyville (19-13) or No. 7 Antioch (13-15) for the sectional title 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Hononegah (25-0) has already beaten Vernon Hills (28-8), winning 25-22, 25-19 two weeks ago. But no NIC-10 team has ever won a sectional matchup in the previous six years of play in the IHSA tournament. The conference is 0-5 lifetime at boys volleyball sectionals, winning only one set. And that set was by Jefferson in the very first year.
“It feels kind of weird,” Minero said of being undefeated yet still being on the wrong side of history. “We have something to prove, definitely.”
“Just because we’re from the NIC-10, a lot of people doubt us,” Savitski-Lynde said. “We haven’t had anyone win a sectional match, but I think this is the year. We have the talent to go far. We just have to lock in and do it.”
Hononegah locked in early in both games Thursday. A 6-0 run broke a tie and put Hono ahead 9-3 in the first game. Fox Lake Grant never got closer than three points after that.
In the second game, Grant pulled ahead 6-3, but another 6-0 Hononegah run put Hono ahead 9-6. Grant came back to tie Hononegah six times but never led after that.
“That was very important,” 6-6 Hononegah hitter Brandon Beck said. “After that, we held the momentum through the whole entire game and led us to victory.”
Hononegah closed the match out with a 6-1 run to break away from a 19-18 lead. Savitski-Lynde, who finished with five kills and two aces, had two kills in that final run.
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“They hit really hard and (Savitski-Lynde) can hit from anywhere,” Grant coach Martin Grum said. “It makes for a nice side-out player. We brought a lot of what we had. It just wasn’t enough.”
Hononegah has a lot of firepower from all over the court. Minero had six kills Thursday and Beck had three block assists and one solo block. Also, Boccarusso had 18 assists and Brad Foss had three aces.
“If we need one, I will go get a kill for you,” Savitski-Lynde said. “But we really have it all. We have the most well-rounded team that I have seen yet. There are a lot of teams in high school ball that will have one weak link, but we don’t have a weak link.”
Hononegah is now playing for history. But then Hononegah is always playing for history.
“Every team we have had up to this point has set the tone for the next year,” coach Curran said. “Every one wants to do something bigger and better than the year before. Last year was our first year of winning conference and winning a regional. This year they want to win our sectional. And 25-0 is another thing our program has never done. Every year they are trying to take that step further.”
That step begins Saturday in Gurnee Warren.
“We did it last year, but not to this level,” Savitski-Lynde said. “We weren’t undefeated. This year, we haven’t been humbled. We’re on top right now and we haven’t gone down at all.
“Hopefully, we can stay on top, not get cocky, and just keep on going.”
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at mtrowbridge@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @MattTrowbridge. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com.
All-time NIC-10 boys volleyball sectional results
2021 — Zion-Benton def. Hononegah 25-22, 25-20
2021 — Vernon Hills def. Guilford 25-18, 25-19
2020 — No tournament
2019 — Barrington def. Boylan 29-27, 25-16
2018 — No NIC-10 team won a regional
2017 — No NIC-10 team won a regional
2016 — Roselle Lake Park def. Guilford 25-15, 25-19
2016 — St. Charles North def. Jefferson 25-22, 23-25, 25-15
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Undefeated Hononegah chases NIC-10 boys volleyball history
