Credit: Bill Stone
Oak Park and River Forest High School seniors Emmi Bozarth and Bella Gray ended the 2025 girls volleyball season consoling each other after their teams both lost in the super-sectional.
On Monday, the long-time friends were together again after super-sectionals but this time embracing and smiling.
Now teammates, they and the Huskies are headed downstate for the first time since the 1987 Class AA state runners-up.
OPRF advanced to the Class 4A state semifinals by beating Loyola Academy 25-20, 22-25, 25-17 at the New Trier Super-Sectional.
“Going to state means the world,” Bozarth said.
“I can’t even express how I’m feeling right now. It is insane how this hasn’t been done in 40 years. Honestly, we were playing not only for each other but every single team that hasn’t gotten to this point in the program.”
The Huskies (27-8) will play Mother McAuley (36-4), the state’s No. 1-rated team, at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 at CEFCU Arena in Normal.
The third-place match is at 7:25 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 followed by the championship match at 8:55 p.m.
“I get to play with my best friends at state. It’s just such an amazing feeling and I’m so excited,” OPRF senior libero Devyn Kleidon said. “This is just something I’ll never get back and I’m just so thankful.”
It’s quite a reward for the Huskies and 11 seniors after losing to third-place Lockport in the 2025 super-sectional.
That came after the Huskies’ first sectional title since 2013, back when OPRF coach Symone Speech played for the Huskies.
“It’s so cool. They worked so hard for (state). We talked about it for so long,” Speech said.
“I love everything about Oak Park so to be able to come back and serve the community I grew up in, it just means a lot.”
Gray joined the Huskies this season after transferring from Fenwick, which lost its 2025 3A super-sectional to second-place Nazareth Academy.
“Everyone here (at OPRF) has been so nice and making it just like a second home,” Gray said.
“We were working towards state. That was our goal the whole time. It just feels so unreal that we made it and accomplished our goal.”
Several Huskies knew Gray well before this season.
Bozarth and Gray were reunited after playing together at Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest. Kleidon and Gray have known each other since they were 3.
“We started playing volleyball together. Meant to be (together at state),” Kleidon said. The Huskies thrived Monday behind solid serve receive, back-row play, blocking and attacking from 11 court players – Bozarth, Gray, Kleidon, seniors Aniyah Scott, Edith Carroll, Jaida Garland, Celia Jackson and Mia Mahoney and juniors Eva Truss, Lura Weiner and Marguerite Ostry. Scott also is a transfer this year from IMG Academy in Florida.
Before the Huskies won the first set, Loyola (25-15) jumped to a 9-5 lead mostly on OPRF attack errors.
The Huskies also had a rough stretch in the second set that turned their 16-13 advantage into a 21-17 deficit.
In the third set, OPRF surged to 4-0 and 10-2 leads and led by at least four points the rest of the way.
“To see them working through it and doing the things to get back in finding their groove, it was a beautiful way to win,” Speech said.
“I just told them it’s right in the palm of your hands. You just have to trust yourself and believe that we are meant to go. I could sense towards the end (of the second set) the fire coming back. They realized they had to really take it. No one was going to give it to them.”
The defining point in the third set was perhaps when Speech called a timeout after Loyola closed to 15-11.
On the next point, the Huskies kept the ball alive with numerous digs, including an incredible corner save by Bozarth before Gray ended the play with a kill.
“I think it just shows the grit we have,” Bozarth said. “When we start fighting for something, we don’t stop. I think it was shown a lot in that point especially.”
Gray had six kills in the third set. Gray said she was confident remembering last season’s 18 kills in a Fenwick victory over Loyola.
Now it is all about anticipating one final time together at state.
“I’m just looking forward to having fun this last time playing with all of my best friends,” Kleidon said.
“It’s so special and so excited to get more memories with these girls because that’s what I really wanted out of this season.”