Even as they were celebrating with their friends and families ... even as they posed for pictures with the IHSA sectional championship plaque clutched tightly in their hands, it still didn’t feel real to the Rock Falls Rockets.

After waiting for so long to take that next step, the Rockets volleyball team emphatically leaped over the hurdle in front of them, dominating the Class 3A Mendota Sectional championship match against Dunlap on Thursday in a 25-11, 25-18 victory.

“It’s almost disbelief,” longtime coach Sheila Mammosser said. “For so long, it’s been what if, what if, what if. Well, now we’re one win away from what if, and I couldn’t be more happy or proud of this team.”