Glenbard West Sweeps Oswego, Reaches Sectional Final

Glenbard West advanced to the Class 4A sectional championship match Tuesday night, sweeping Oswego 25-18, 25-16 in a sectional semifinal at the Glenbard West Sectional. The Hilltoppers (32-6) never trailed in either set against the Panthers (24-10), a Southwest Prairie Conference program.

Glenbard West keyed its defense on Oswego's two leading hitters, Hannah Herrick and Sara Gilio, both among the state's top players. Senior Farryn Burridge said the team prepared for that assignment without hesitation. "Being scared never helped anyone," Burridge said. "You can't be scared when you go up against hitters like those. You have to be confident, and you have to know that you can shut them down."

Burridge led the Hilltoppers with seven kills on .500 hitting and added three blocks. She delivered four kills in the second set, including the point that closed the match. Senior setter Cara Herbert, a Loyola-Maryland commit, distributed 19 assists across five hitters to keep Oswego's blockers moving. "Just to keep their middles guessing, their whole team guessing was my main thing," Herbert said. "Keep my offense balanced, and then obviously using my hot hitters."

Seniors Ella Rowe and Adria Timpone each contributed four kills. Emily Jurek and Maddy O'Connell recorded six digs apiece, and Herbert added two blocks and two aces. Caitlyn Antonacci served an ace that pushed the lead to 21-14 in the second set.

Herrick led all players with nine kills on .412 hitting for Oswego. Gilio, who had 30 kills across two matches last week, finished with four kills and six digs. Elaina Massie posted eight assists and five digs, Amelia Mosley had eight digs and three assists, and Lily Roller added five digs and two aces.

Glenbard West opened the match with a 6-0 run and later used a 4-0 spurt to reach 17-10 before taking the first set 25-18 on a Timpone kill. The second set was tied at 6 before the Hilltoppers pulled ahead 11-7 at Oswego's first timeout and 15-8 at the second. The Panthers committed errors during that stretch, which Oswego coach Gary Mosley had addressed in practice. "You cannot give teams points, especially like that," Mosley said. "When you're giving them easy outs and making them uncomfortable.. its tough when you give those teams chances and you're giving them points."

Glenbard West coach Dan Scott said his players accepted that Herrick and Gilio would make some plays. "Those girls are unreal," Scott said. "There's just some things that you can't stop from them, and we were OK with clapping for their great shots, then moving on."

Glenbard West moves on to face Downers Grove North (28-9) in Thursday's sectional title match. Downers Grove North swept Benet Academy in Tuesday's second semifinal. The Hilltoppers' last sectional championship appearance came in 2023, when they lost to Benet. Oswego concludes its season at 24-10 and loses a five-player senior class that includes starters Herrick, Massie, Mosley and Dani Brooks.