NORMAL – O’Fallon had a very spirited rally after dropping the opening set, tying the match by winning the second set, but Normal Community West took the final set and defeated the Panthers 25-12, 23-25, 25-21 in the IHSA Class 4A girls volleyball sectional final Thursday night, Nov. 7, 2024, at Normal West’s gym.
The loss ended O’Fallon’s season at 24-15, and allowed the Wildcats to advance to the Richton Park Rich Township super-sectional/state quarterfinal match against Chicago Marist Catholic, who upset Chicago Mother McAuley Catholic, a traditional volleyball power, 25-20, 25-17 to win their own sectional Thursday night, The match takes place Monday night at 6 p.m.
This was the 16th consecutive home win for Normal West, which extends back to last season. The Wildcats defeated cross-town rival Normal Community in the semifinals on Tuesday, while the Panthers won over Belleville West in a match played at Belleville East.
The final two sets were closely contested, with West managing to come out on top and move on to the super-sectional against Marist.
The Wildcats are now 36-3 on the season.
The super-sectiionals in all four classes are set for Monday, with the state finals set for Illinois State University’s CEFCU Arena next weekend, Nov. 15-16.
