Richmond-Burton sweeps Westmont, heads to state for first time since 2012

When Richmond-Burton ’s Reagan Wisniewski entered Monday’s Class 2A Mendota Supersectional with a chance to serve her team to state, the Rockets senior knew what she had to do. “For my coach to put me in that moment, it was special,” said Wisniewski, who tore her ACL in April and has sat in a chair next to her Rockets’ coaches on the bench all year. “I’ve been out all season, and he knew he wanted to put me in that match. He looked at the score, he looked at me and told me I was going in. I knew I had to get the job done. “My dream has been going to state, so I just had to do it.” After serving two aces in the first set against Westmont , Wisniewski put the finishing touches on yet another dominant win for R-B. Wisniewski served the final three points, with senior Josie Franckowiak recording the match-clinching block in a 25-13, 25-12 sweep for the Rockets in Mendota. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 22 Richmond-Burton's Daniella Hopp hits the ball between the Westmont blocks during the IHSA Class 2A Mendota Supersectional girls volleyball match on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, at Mendota Township High School. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver Shaw Media ) The win gives the Rockets a team-record 38th win of the season and puts them into the state tournament for only the second time in school history (2012, 3A). Top-seeded Richmond-Burton (38-2) advances to play No. 1 Tri-Valley (30-3), a 25-15, 25-19 winner over No. 2 Manteno on Monday, in a state semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena in Normal. Westmont ends the season 30-5. “It’s incredible. They continue to blow me away with their poise and their desire to keep working at it every single day,” said R-B coach Eric Schulze, in his first year at the school. “We’ve made this run look pretty easy, but I think it’s because they’ve played really really well. I couldn’t be prouder for a group of kids who have worked incredibly hard to be in this spot.” The Rockets, who topped last year’s team and the 2012 team that finished with 37 victories, haven’t dropped a set all postseason. R-B’s only two losses this year have come against Class 4A schools Huntley and Burlington Central in tourney finals. “Honestly, this means so much,” said senior outside hitter and NCAA Division-I Coastal Carolina commit Dani Hopp, who posted a match-high 14 kills while upping her season total to 488. “We’ve been working so hard as a team. This has been our goal since the beginning. It’s great to finally accomplish that.” Wisniewski (two aces), Hopp (four digs) and libero Lanee Cooley (two aces, five digs) have been on varsity all four seasons. Last year’s team fell a little short of achieving its state dream with a sectional final loss. That served as motivation for the Rockets. “We talked about it so much and how we all felt,” Cooley said of last year’s finish. “We’ve been a totally different team (this year) preseason to postseason. I think we all made a switch in our mindset. We all locked in and realized we can do this.” Franckowiak had 21 assists and junior outside hitter Mia Furlan tallied six kills. Freshman Blakely Sterbenz served three aces in the opening set. As a team, R-B recorded 10 aces. Senior Malorie Komar (six digs) had two aces, and junior Addy Woods (five digs) added one. “We knew the challenge we were going to be facing,” said Westmont coach Jason Gentile, whose Sentinels tied last year’s team with a team-record 30 victories. “Offensively, they just have a lot of firepower and put a few balls away we just couldn’t dig.” The Sentinels, who earned back-to-back regional titles and their first sectional title since 2009, graduate 10 seniors, including outside hitter-captain Kotryna Vanagas and right-side hitter Layla Bunch. Vanagas tallied seven kills to lead Westmont on Monday, while Bunch added six. Gentile said Vanagas broke the school’s single-season kills record, with well over 380. Bunch filled in for an injured player earlier this year and had more than 250 kills. “We had one of the best seasons this school has ever had,” said Gentile, whose team hasn’t lost a match in the Chicago Prep Conference since joining in 2024. “The senior class was outstanding. Just their overall effort and going this far really shows their wants and their needs to get better and be the best team they can be.” Vanagas has seen her team get better in a hurry. “I’m just proud of the growth our team has seen every year,” Vanagas said. “My freshman team I think we went (7-25), we were not great. It’s been really nice to do it with my team. I’ve always held myself to high standards. Being able to prove it to myself and as a team, I feel very accomplished.” The Rockets have also received huge contributions all season from its underclassmen, including Sterbenz, freshman middle blockers Helaina Thibadeau and Bri Shufelt and sophomore Sophie Nelson. “It’s insane,” said Sterbenz, who is among the team leaders in aces with 47. “I know the seniors have been here way longer than myself and they’ve wanted it so much. It’s my first postseason to go through, and we’ve all been working together. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.” Franckowiak said it was fitting for Wisniewski to be out on the court for the final points. “I know it’s been really hard for her,” Franckowiak said. “It’s her senior year, she wasn’t expecting to be injured but she’s come in every single day and worked hard, just bringing her positivity to the gym and she’s pushed us every day. For her to go out there and have success, it just shows that we’re all in this together.”