Neuqua wins 3rd straight UEC title

Yes, Neuqua Valley was facing cross-town rival Waubonsie Valley on Tuesday with a third straight Upstate Eight Conference title on the line.

Coming off a rare loss, the Wildcats were facing another formidable opponent - themselves.

"Too many mental errors, the passing was off, the guys got on each other when the match was tight," Neuqua coach Erich Mendoza said of Monday's loss to Minooka.

"So let's take the mistakes that we made from yesterday, let's see what our character is made of and let's come out and do what we've been doing essentially all year."

Neuqua Valley (31-3) did that, going 9-0 in the Upstate Eight a third straight season with a 25-15, 25-18 win over the visiting Warriors (14-16, 7-2).

"We wanted to prove to everyone that, like, we're legit. We think that we have a chance of winning state, and we wanted to prove that today," said Neuqua outside hitter Rob Bauer, who contributed 11 kills and 8 digs.

Even after two straight third-place state finishes you can't put the cart before the horse. So the Wildcats emphasized their passing, and setter Alex Onsager came through with 27 assists.

And they focused on Waubonsie middle blocker Connor Dougherty, who had to fight numerous double blocks for his 7 kills.

"He's playing at Grand Canyon (University), he's a really good player," said Ball State-bound Neuqua middle hitter Derek Menendez. "Going into the match we wanted to key on him because they set him everywhere. That was a big thing for us."

Somewhat big at the time was Neuqua's Kevin Begley serving a mini-run in the first game, turning an early 4-3 advantage into 8-3 and forcing Waubonsie coach Al Lagger into a timeout.

Waubonsie could never hold service, and Neuqua polished it off on a Bauer spike through two blockers.

"We didn't match their intensity in the first game," Lagger said. "We did a better job in the second game, but we still made some mistakes at inopportune times."

Dueling No. 11s at the net - Menendez and Dougherty - made for a close Game 2 until Menendez smacked back a too-long Waubonsie pass and got down a block for a 14-10 Wildcats lead and another Lagger timeout.

It worked for a moment. Then Bauer served 5 straight points to separate. At the end Onsager blocked Dougherty and the Wildcats had the title. And mojo.

"We're excited," Bauer said, "but we have our eyes set on winning state."