In the biggest match in program history, of course it was Mia Jurkovic — the player coach Gary Mosley called the heart and soul of the team — who kept things alive for Oswego.
Playing in the Panthers’ first-ever sectional championship match, Jurkovic was serving in the first game Thursday night when she made an acrobatic dig to keep a rally alive.
“I know it’s all about the energy, so I know getting a dig like that lifts up our team,” Jurkovic said. “I feel like those plays really help out our energy.”
The 6-foot-1 outside hitter helped Oswego take an 8-5 lead in the first game against Lockport in the Class 4A Bolingbrook Sectional final.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, it wasn’t enough to prevent an end to their historic run as Lockport advanced to the Riverside-Brookfield Supersectional with a 25-21, 25-21 victory.
Jurkovic paced Oswego (32-5) with four kills and six digs, while Sidney Hamaker had seven kills and five digs. Hannah Herrick added six kills, Kelsey Foster contributed four kills and seven digs and Ava Flanigan tallied 16 assists and three digs.
The fourth kill by Jurkovic actually gave Oswego a 12-10 lead in the first game and forced a timeout by Lockport (34-5).
“They were kind of camping on Sid on the block,” Mosley said of the Porters’ triple block. “I would game plan the same way. Then they got onto us and played some stunning defense.
“They were scrappy. Hats off to them in that regard — they were not letting the ball drop.”
Lockport rallied to take the first game and Oswego then started to make uncharacteristic errors in the second. The Panthers ended up with 11 errors in the second game, despite having three aces.
“I guess we were trying to play one point at a time, keep our game going, keep our tempo up,” Hamaker said. “We passed decently, but we didn’t pass well enough consistently the entire time.
“I feel like if we did that, it would have ended up better.”
Hamaker was emotional in the aftermath of the loss, but she was happy for the journey.
“I’m just so proud of how much we accomplished this season,” Hamaker said. “The other seniors and I, it’s just been awesome to look back on. Obviously, this isn’t what we wanted to happen.”
Jurkovic tried to focus on what her team accomplished after the loss, and the Western Michigan recruit kept things in perspective.
“I’m super proud of everyone,” Jurkovic said. “We worked hard. We wanted to do better than last year, which we accomplished, but we had bigger goals. At the end of the day, we worked hard every day and we made it farther than we did last year, which I’m really proud of.”
Mosley couldn’t be more effusive in his praise of Jurkovic and her contributions to the program.
“Sid gets a lot of attention and Mia kind of gets the back seat,” Mosley said. “I’ll tell you what, at practice every day, that kid is there with a smile on her face ready to give it everything.
“She never complains. She doesn’t worry about her role. She knows what her role is. She embraces it. She picks us up when we need it. She’s meant the world. She’ll be sorely missed.”
Jurkovic was happy to hear about the praise she received from her coach, but she also knows that the contributions from her entire senior class will be felt by the program for years to come.
“Everyone has a role and has that heart and that’s how we do so well on the court, just because of the passion for volleyball,” Jurkovic said. “The underclassmen, they have people to look up to.
“They can accomplish this. It gives them perspective.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
