HOFFMAN ESTATES – Glenbard West’s boys volleyball team set another milestone on Saturday.

Seven years after setting a new standard in program history by earning their first state appearance with a fourth-place showing, and then winning three straight state titles and a third-place finish last season, the Hilltoppers placed second at state this season.

Marist, led by the hard-hitting Marty Jepsen, posted a 25-21, 25-23 win over Glenbard West In the championship game at Hoffman Estates.

Glenbard West coach Christine Giunta-Mayer noted it was a strange feeling finishing second.

“We have never been second,” Giunta-Mayer said, visibly emotional with tears streaming down her face. “Second is not fun…But we worked hard for this moment. You don’t work for second place, but somebody’s got to win, somebody’s got to lose. That’s the nature of the beast.

“We worked so hard. I feel I wanted to win this for the seniors so bad. This whole team put in the extra work. We knew we had to work a little bit harder this year. We knew we didn’t have the size, but we had the athleticism and speed and we knew we had character kids.”

The Hilltoppers (38-4) received 12 kills and eight digs from Ben Harrington and Ryan Swartz, a California-San Diego recruit, added 10 kills and 13 digs.

Marist (40-2) relied on an athletic and deep lineup combined with the solid play of setter Gene McNulty and Brendan Chausse. Jepsen, a Lewis recruit, closed out Glenbard West’s dream of winning a fourth state title with a thundering kill to end the second set. He finished with 14 kills and 11 digs.

“Marty Jepsen is one of the athletes I love playing against all these years,” Giunta-Mayer said. “He’s a difference-maker. I thought we did a great job against him.”

The Hilltoppers came out aggressive and jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set, but Marist kept chipping away. Jepsen sparked the comeback with six kills in the opening set, while Nyherowo Omene was a force at the net.

Giunta-Mayer said Hilltoppers have a memorable season, one in which the younger players, such as juniors Harrington and Nico Cavalcante, gained insight into become leaders for a championship-level program.

“I’m so proud of this team,” she said. “My juniors gave these seniors everything they could…I have eight seniors that have given me blood, sweat and tears for four years. But what I loved about my seniors is they were role models for my juniors. The juniors are going to come back. This is our sixth consecutive final four. It’s quite an accomplishment. We battled our way. It was a great season.”

Cavalacante walked off the court with a big smile — and motivation for next season.

“Marist is such a great team and we played our hearts out and were just a few points short,” he said. “We played every game with importance and just fell short. Next year we are going to work a lot harder and grind out that season and hope for the best next year.”