Despite 0-3 day, Huntley feeling golden
Huntley hadn't tasted defeat all year until Thursday, so dropping three matches in four hours Saturday surely was a bitter pill.
You take it with a grain of salt at the Asics Challenge.
The No. 3-ranked Red Raiders, at the prestigious event at Mother McAuley for the first time, went 0-3 in the Gold playoffs to settle for eighth place in the 24-team field.
Huntley (16-4) won both pool-play matches Friday to get into the top bracket.
“It's what we wanted,” Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski said. “Literally, it was awesome to be here. Even though we went 0-3 we hold our heads high and we learn from it. I still think we can play with anybody here.”
The 25th Asics Challenge featured 10 teams from PrepVolleyball.com's recent top 100 national rankings. No. 50 Huntley drew No. 4 and top tournament seed Berkeley Prep from Tampa in the first match. The Red Raiders took the first set before falling 23-25, 25-15, 25-15.
Berkeley went on to lose to 11-time champion and No. 8-ranked Assumption (Ky.) 25-17, 25-21 in the Challenge championship match.
Huntley later lost to Sandburg 25-14, 25-22 and Joliet Catholic 25-22, 25-16. Huntley was tied 21-21 in the first set against Joliet Catholic but seemed to run out of gas after coming up short there.
“We played amazing from Berkeley in the first game — it's almost like we gave everything we had in one game,” Jakubowski said, “but you have to win two out of three. I tried to explain that to our girls.”
Sam Boesch had three-match totals of 22 kills, Eli Manning 70 assists and Amy Dion 38 digs. Jakubowski glowed about the work of senior middle Jaina Jackson's work and her 17 kills.
“Jaina played amazing every game of every match,” Jakubowski said. “She came to play every point.”
St. Francis (23-6) is no stranger to the Challenge and played like a team that's been there before Saturday.
Dropped into the Silver bracket after going 1-1 Friday, the Spartans beat Notre Dame (Ky.) 25-19, 15-25, 25-20, then dominated a 25-20, 25-13 win over defending tournament champion Cary-Grove.
St. Francis led Sacred Heart (Ky.) 20-19 in the first set of the Silver championship match, but a 6-0 Sacred Heart run ended the set and the Spartans dropped a 25-20, 25-15.
“We were 3-2 here. I'm happy with that,” St. Francis coach Peg Kopec said. “I could have been happier about some things. If we can play as well as we did at some points in this tournament — we're having a fine season, but if we play that way we can have an even better season. We raised our level of play a notch.”
Daiva Wise had five-match totals of 40 kills, Carly Warner 21 kills and Grace Churney had an outstanding tournament with 31 kills. Churney had 8 kills in a loss to eventual tournament champion Assumption (Ky.) in Friday pool play and 7 kills against Cary-Grove. Haley Gable added 7 kills and Warner 22 assists and 17 digs against Cary-Grove.
“Cary-Grove, that was one of the best matches we've had all year,” Wise said. “I think we made the least unforced errors we've ever made.”
The view was different for Cary-Grove this year than last, when the Trojans won the event en route to ascending to a No. 1 spot in the nation.
In Silver bracket play Saturday the Trojans (21-4) beat Seneca (Pa.) 25-19, 25-17, then lost to St. Francis and to Catholic Memorial (Wisc.) 25-20, 21-25, 25-22.
“Last year was fun and unbelievable — I don't think any of us expected to win out in two every match,” Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis said. “This year we knew it would be a little tougher. But it's great to come here and get challenged.”
Cary-Grove back from down a set and down early in the second to force the third against Catholic Memorial, but was unable to finish. Melanie Jereb had five-match tournament totals of 40 kills and Ashley Rosch 39 kills.
“We're able to catch up in matches and stay in it,” Langanis said, “but when we have a team on the ropes we don't seem to have that killer instinct to put the match away. That's something that as a young team I think we'll do better as the season goes on.”