On Saturday, November 5, the RB Varsity girls volleyball team faced Niles West High School to see who would advance to the state semifinals. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were not able to pull out the win.

In all of the IHSA team sports, reaching the state championships involves progressing through a series of rounds.

First, the team must win conference, which the girls did with an 11-1 record. Because they were favored, RB was given a bye and started at the regional semifinals. They then progressed to the regional finals, sectional semifinals, and won the sectional championships.

The team was taken down at the final eight, also know as the super sectionals. The team that won advanced to the state semifinals, and finally to the state championships. The last time the RB Varsity Girls Volleyball team had gotten this far was in 1988.

“There have been no team state championships in RB’s history in any sport,” said Dan Bonarigo, the Varsity girls volleyball coach.

As mentioned before, the team faced Niles West at Schaumburg High School. RBHS lost 22-25 in the first match, won 25-22 in the second, and lost 29-31, in overtime, in the third.

“It was probably the most heartbreaking loss that anyone has ever seen,” said Bonarigo.

Needless to say, the team felt terrible.

“It was really exciting to advance that far, but something that I always talk about is that you should never be satisfied. So you know, advancing this far was great, but everyone wanted to go farther,” said Bonarigo.

Either way, Bonarigo describes this year’s group of girls to be fantastic as individuals, and as a team.

“We will look forward to next year, and work hard to achieve similar goals as this year,” said Bonarigo.