BRADLEY — The first set of girls volleyball between Bradley-Bourbonnais and Homewood-Flossmoor was perhaps the most competitive, back-and-forth sets a city team has played this season. But unfortunately for the host Boilermakers, that first set went to the Vikings by a 28-26 final, and after a slow start out of the gate in the second, the Boilers (13-11, 1-3) saw Homewood-Flossmoor (21-6, 5-0) come away with a 25-16 win in the second set to give the Vikings a 2-0 win in SouthWest Suburban Conference action. The Boilers were playing catch up early after the Vikings scored four of the first five points on the night and an 11-4 lead early on, but a calm, steady approach saw the Boilers roar back, taking their first lead at 18-17 on a Vikings hit that went out of bounds.
Tied at 21, Emilee Fitzgerald's crafty tip once again pulled the Boilers ahead at 22-21, followed by an ace from Alyssa Pignatiello that put them up two with two points left to get. The Vikings got a nifty tip of their own, with Fitzgerald countering with a kill that made it a 24-22 game before a pair of Vikings points tied it once again. The Boilers were able to get to both 25 and 26 points first, but the visitors scored the final three to take the first set in dramatic fashion.
"We had three goals — connection with your setters, next-ball mentality and energy. We had it in the first set," Boilers head coach Leigh Reiniche said. "We had a couple aces against us, a couple missed serves that brought us down a .