The week before regionals was an exciting week on its own. Monday night was senior night, and Thursday night was the match that determined the NUIC conference champions. Galena played Eastland, the team that beat them in the sectional championship last year, knocking Galena out of the state tournament. This year Galena took their revenge, resoundingly beating them in two games.

This past week regionals began for Galena on Tuesday, October 25 when the Galena Pirate volleyball team faced off with the Stockton Blackhawks in the second round of regionals. Stockton came off a win against River Ridge on Monday night while Galena had a bye.

The atmosphere in the Stockton gym was do or die, as the teams fought to move on in the state tournament. “The high intensity of the student section and all of the Galena fans helped our team be confident while on the court even when we are playing in tough environment is tough because the gym is so small and it’s so loud, se we really have focus to win the games.” said Kristen Calvert.

Similar to the first time the teams played in Stockton, the Pirates pulled out a narrow victory. Stockton claimed a shocking win in the first game of the match, beating Galena 25-14. However, the Pirates were able to battle back to win the second game 25-19. This forced a third game, that the Galena won 25-19.

Next was the regional championship game, also in Stockton with Galena facing Lena Winslow. Despite knowing that they beat the Panthers pretty easily earlier in the season, the Pirates knew that they needed to stay focused, as the postseason brings added pressure and intensity.

Galena was able to start the match quickly, and stay on top for the whole first game, winning 25-13. The second game was a little closer, but the Pirates won with a score of 25-18.

“In the first game, we stayed really focused and executed the things we needed to execute to win the game easily.” said Katie Furlong, “But I think in the second game we lost a little focus and that is why we didn’t win the game by as much as we could of. After coach called that timeout, we went back out on the court and focused like we needed to to win the game.

In Eastland, the Pirates will played Sterling Newman on Tuesday, November 1 in the first round of sectionals. They defeated Sterling Newman in two sets. They then went on to the sectional championship against Eastland, and were defeated by the Lady Cougars.