Senior setter Natalie Bochantin has a pretty good memory, so she didn’t have to be given a reminder about what happened the last time Lockport went three games in a match.
In their previous outing on Sept. 16, the Porters suffered a 20-point loss in the third game to Joliet West. Fast forward to Tuesday night and Bochantin being at service line in another third game.
“We wanted to flip the script,” she said.
Consider the script flipped better than a Simone Biles routine.
Bochantin began Tuesday’s third game with eight straight points, including four aces, as the host Porters pulled off a 21-25, 31-29, 25-15 victory over Lincoln-Way East in a SouthWest Suburban Conference opener for both teams.
Hutsyn Timosciek, a left-handed senior right-side hitter, led Lockport (15-4, 1-0) with 18 kills. Seven of those kills came in a wild second game that saw the Porters rally from a 15-9 deficit.
Virgina recruit Kyla Mitchell added eight kills and four blocks, while Bochantin also notched 17 assists and Emma Consigny chipped in with nine digs and three aces.
But those serves by the Milwaukee-bound Bochantin? Huge.
“I always try to be a little aggressive when I serve,” she said. “I try to take a little bit off on the first one and get them out of system. After that, I try to pick up the pace a little bit. I didn’t care if I was going to miss on that second or third one.
“I just wanted to be aggressive and get the passers off the net so they couldn’t run too much. I wanted to take a little stress off our blockers and our defense.”
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Illinois recruit Kolby Ross produced 18 kills and Claire Connolly added eight kills and five blocks as Lincoln-Way East (11-5, 0-1), the two-time defending conference champion, had a 16-match win streak in the SWSC snapped after going 8-0 in 2024 and 2025.
Meanwhile, Bochantin had Lockport fired up in the final game against the Griffins. The Porters entered Tuesday’s match 1-3 in third games after the 25-14, 23-25, 25-5 loss to Joliet West.
“Everyone loved it,” Timosciek said of Bochantin’s serving run. “It took a lot of weight of our backs. She’s just amazing, obviously. It lifted everyone’s spirits right away.”
Lockport coach Nick Mraz was happy with Bochantin’s serving dominance.
“In any third set, you always want to start strong,” Mraz said. “You want to be that first to five. For her to give us that start was great. They had to take a timeout when it was 6-0 and we still came out of the timeout to go 8-0, which was huge.
“That obviously doesn’t let you relax because they pushed back at the end, but it gives you that cushion.”
Bochantin started playing volleyball at age 10 after watching her older sister, Katie. Natalie played middle hitter at first, but then soon became a setter and never looked back.
In her last high school season, Bochantin has her sights set on getting the Porters to the Class 4A state finals for the third year in a row. After that, she’s looking forward to setting in college.
Bochantin plans on majoring in biochemistry and wants to become a fertility doctor.
“I would like to help people have opportunities to have children even if they are not fortunate enough to have natural birth,” she said.
At first, it looked like she was going to have to choose a different college.
“They told me they didn’t have any openings for a 2027 setter,” Bochantin said of Milwaukee. “Then I saw them at my club college camp and they found a spot for me.
“I’m really excited. They have a really good program.”
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Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.