The Huskies girls’ volleyball team fell just short of a comeback win Thursday night, falling in three sets on their senior night to Neuqua Valley.

The Naperville North Huskies (28-6, 6-2) were defeated by the Neuqua Valley Wildcats (20-14, 4-3) by a final score of 25-22, 27-29, 25-20.

Celebrating both their last regular season game and their senior night, the Huskies hoped to get off to a quick start, and they did just that. The team took a seven point lead in the first set, forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout.

“[We wanted to] come out with a lot of energy and help lead the team, and to set the tone for the match,” senior captain Molly Russell said.

Despite the Huskies grabbing a big lead early, the Wildcat defense made adjustments after the timeout, leading to multiple runs. Neuqua Valley was able to rally and win the first set 25-22.

The second set matched the intensity and excitement of the first, as the teams battled back and forth the whole set, extending the game past the regular 25-point mark. After multiple rallies, the Huskies were able to win the second set 29-27.

Despite extending the game to a third set, the Wildcats defense took control the rest of the way and were too much for the Huskies. The Wildcats led almost the whole set, and hung on to win 25-20.

Even after losing Thursday night, the Huskies 6-2 conference record was still enough to edge out Naperville Central’s 5-4 to be named outright conference champions.

With the playoffs right around the corner, senior captain Grace Selman says the team has a lot of adjustments to make before they take the court again.

“We need to work on the little things this week in practice,” Selman said. “If we do that, we will have a better time executing next game.”

The Huskies’ playoff run begins Tuesday, as they will play in the regional semifinal against Plainfield East. The game will be played at NNHS, starting at 6:30 P.M.