When Conant's boys volleyball invitational was all over Saturday afternoon, the championship plaque stayed in Hoffman Estates with the host Cougars hoisting it for a third straight year.

It was all for Sammie, a former Conant pitcher (2014-2017) and junior varsity coach from 2020 to 2023 who died at the age of 25 earlier this year after a courageous battle with brain cancer.