Belvidere North Gets Six-Seed in Volleyball Regional

By Chris Johnson, REPORTER

 There is one thing that is definite. A lot of great volleyball was played in the NIC-10 this season. It’s really no different than any other season, but this year saw a little shift-up at the top and some moving around the middle. Typically, Hononegah, Harlem and Boylan will be near the top. This year, the Guilford Lady Vikings took the Conference top honors with a 12-2 mark. Belvidere North finished in second with a 14-3 Conference mark followed by Boylan, Hononegah and Harlem. Rockford East closed the regular season with a NIC-10 mark of 7-7. As Belvidere North prepared to wrap up the late season portion of the NIC-10 schedule, they suffered setbacks. Harlem won their match two games to none on Oct. 6. The loss started the ball rolling on a four-game losing streak in matches against Deerfield, Antioch and Lake Forest. The streak ended in the final matches of the weekend tournament as the Lady Blue Thunder defeated the Zion-Benton Zee-Bees two games to none and followed that up with a two set to one win over Hampshire.

NIC-10 leader Guilford knocked back Belvidere North in a match on Oct. 11, two games to none. Belvidere North would not lose again and entered the State Tournament on a three-game winning streak, which started on Oct. 13 at Freeport. The Lady Blue Thunder cut the Pretzels down in two sets. In an Oct. 18 match against Rockford East, Belvidere North survived with a 2-1 decision. The 2-1 win at Rockford Boylan wrapped up the 2016 season.

Varsity Volleyball

With the NIC-10 regular season now complete, the post-season is underway. Belvidere North is one of the teams who many feel have a good shot to compete in the Crystal Lake South Regional. When a team is issued the six-seed it means they are one win away from a match in the Regional Championship.

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