Hononegah boys volleyball sweeps Belvidere in NIC-10 action

ROCKTON—Hononegah junior Will Dennison has heard the scuttlebutt surrounding the Hononegah boys volleyball team and their “rebuilding year.”

Sure, the Indians did graduate a large senior class and those players did stuff the stat sheets in addition to winning three-straight NIC-10 titles and a trio of regional championships.

But Dennison and his teammates are determined to meet the high standard those before them have set, and a 25-10, 25-18 sweep of Belvidere in NIC-10 action on Tuesday night provided strong evidence to back that up.

“A lot of schools think we’re washed now because everyone is gone,” Dennison said. “But we’re pulling through pretty well. Out of conference in a tournament we beat Harlem. We’re living up to those expectations.”

The Indians also extended their winning streak in NIC-10 play to 40-straight matches with their victory over the Bucs.

“They’re just really excited and have been working hard,” head coach Annie Curran said. “They really want to push for first in the conference again this year. They’re really excited to continue the legacy and the tradition.”

Hononegah’s top three players in kills, blocks, digs and aces all graduated. Most importantly, Braydon Savitski-Lynde, who led the state of Illinois with 474 kills last season and is now playing Division I at Ball State University, is no longer around to deliver booming strikes.

“A lot of people told us it’s a rebuilding year and I hate saying that,” Curran said. “They’re all so well-versed from their former years of playing, and they all play competitively in the offseason. I see it as a growing year.”

Curran added she sees several different players on her deep squad fulfilling roles rather than one superstar.

“Everyone does their job and they do it well,” she said. “We really minimize our errors. Jack (Allen) has been our big super server, but tonight Trenton Lundsten and Owen Rollinson were getting an ungodly amount of aces as well. Everybody did so well and they were very consistent.”

Brogan Hansmeier delivered some hearty hits out of the gate and Lundsten had a slew of aces to help Hononegah jump out to a 14-3 lead in the first set.

The Indians let error-prone Belvidere give them points off misfires while providing a dose of stout defense to limit the Bucs to just a handful of kills throughout the night.

“Our defense exceeded what I’ve seen, which was awesome,” Curran said. “(Libero) Noah Duer provided some great coverage. We were actually down one of our starters tonight, so we had one day to run a new lineup. But that's how awesome and versatile this team is, you can throw kids in a lot of places and they're comfortable and confident.”

Duer finished six total digs, and his work in the back row helped Hononegah build a 23-9 lead. Allen finished with two kills to seal a first set victory.

The Bucs started the second set strong with a few solid kills helping limit Hononegah to an 8-6 lead. But Allen got an ace to ignite a 7-1 run from the Indians.

Dennison credited Allen with helping Hononegah pull away.

“Jack is a really good player all around,” he said. “Bringing that energy and those points, it really helped us and pushed us through.”

Dennison had two kills and a block in the spurt while Allen provided another ace.

“Will is crushing it with blocks right now,” Curran said. “He just touches everything. He's very quick along the net, he reads well, and he's very smart. He is also very eager to learn and take on new challenges.”

“It's all about how hard I get up there and how hard I'm going to work to get the ball,” Dennison said. “If it's a rough set, I'm gonna try my best to get it over. But it's all thanks to my setter (Rollinson) that I can do any of this.”

And the Bucs, struggling to find a flow and racking up errors, only got as close as five points the rest of the way. Rollinson and Alex Alberstett’s duo of kills at the end of the second set provided Hononegah with the two winning points.

Allen and Colin Hahn led Hononegah with four kills while Rollinson had a team-high 14 assists.

“My kids are eager to play, learn and win,” Curran said. “They’re a very close-knit group. I had to make subs the other day, and there were no hard feelings for the kids. They have a really good volleyball maturity. This year it's going to be different for us, but with our knowledge and our love of the game, I think that they're going to push through.”

The Indians (6-1, 3-0 NIC-10) will be back in action when they host Rockford Auburn on Thursday at 7 p.m.