Antioch’s Gavin Nelson knows how you finish is more important than how you start.
Nelson suffered a sprained ankle during a preseason practice and then rolled the other ankle in his first match back from the first injury, forcing him to miss a few weeks.
“I was thinking to myself that instead of it being a great senior season, it might go the other way,” he said. “I’m just happy I was able to heal quickly and get back at it.”
Getting back at it, Nelson has helped Antioch reach new heights.
Nelson, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter who has committed to play at North Central College, recorded six kills on Tuesday as the Sequoits edged District 117 rival Lakes 27-25, 25-20 in Lake Villa to clinch the Northern Lake County Conference title.
“This means so much to our team, especially our seniors,” Nelson said. “We worked so hard and have been through a lot, so we definitely did not want to let first place slip through our hands with a loss in our last conference match.”
Antioch (26-4, 10-1), which is 3-0 against Lakes (18-17, 8-2) this season, won its 15th match in a row to earn its first league title in the sport and is the first team other than the Eagles to win the NLCC in the conference’s short history.
Antioch and Lakes could meet for the fourth time in the postseason. They will head to the Rockford East Regional on March 22 and, if both win in the quarterfinals, will play each other in the semifinals the next day.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens again,” Lakes coach Greg Bruns said. “Both teams have a lot of good players who don’t like to lose.”
One of those players is Nelson, who was named all-conference in the NLCC last year and provides more than offense for the Sequoits.
“I’m so happy for Gavin because he’s such a game-changer for us,” Antioch coach Jamie Atkinson said. “He makes things happen and is our emotional leader out there. He provides a big spark.”
Nelson seems to play his best against Lakes, as he did in a regional championship match last season. He had 11 kills in a three-game upset win for the Sequoits, who entered the postseason as a seventh seed. They lost to Libertyville in a sectional semifinal.
“I can’t wait to watch Gavin in college,” Atkinson said. “He’s done so much for our program, so I hope he keeps improving and taking his game to another level.”
Before Nelson heads to NCC, Atkinson would like to see him and his teammates keep adding titles and dates to the banner that hangs in Antioch’s gym.
“We got our first one ever last year with our regional title, and now we can add one for 2023 with our conference championship,” Atkinson said. “It would be nice if we could add a couple more under 2023 if we make a long postseason run.”
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Darren Day is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.