Girls volleyball: Huntley dominates DeKalb

After cruising to a second straight Class 4A regional title at home on Thursday, the Huntley girls volleyball team is hoping it's just a steppingstone to bigger and better things ahead.

The Red Raiders will begin their quest for their first sectional title since 2001 when they take on Cary-Grove Tuesday at the Crystal Lake South sectional on Tuesday and if Thursday's convincing 25-13, 25-16 win over DeKalb is any indication, they would appear poised to make a serious run.

"We are playing the best we have played all year," Huntley coach Karen Naymola said. "So we feel very confident. I think offensively this is a much stronger team than we have had in the past."

That offense was on display against the Barbs with the Red Raiders knocking down 23-of-27 of their kill attempts. Junior Erin Erb led the way with 11 kills. Alyson Dion added 5 kills. Setter Kelsey DeWulff had 20 assists and a team-high 6 digs.

"Our offense has always been the strongest part of our game," Naymola said. "We run a very fast offense and with our depth we are able to have three strong weapons at the net all the time. But I'm also really happy with the way we have improved our blocking tremendously and have really started to minimize our mistakes. That could make a big difference as we move forward."

The Red Raiders (24-13) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in Game 1 and quickly extended the margin to double digits at 15-5 on a kill from Sydeney Holt. Huntley cruised the rest of the way.

"We came out really focused and ready to go." Erb said. "Our communication was very good and we were on our toes ready for anything. We feel very good about the way we are playing right now."

The Red Raiders briefly fell behind 1-0 in Game 2, but scored 7 unanswered points to take control. DeWulff and Dion each had kills during the run. Erb added an ace. The Red Raiders later extended the lead to 15-4 on a kill by Erb and led 23-11 late in the game.

"This is very exciting" Dion said. "We played very well as a team. We are more experienced this year and playing more together. I think we will do very well at sectionals if we keep playing like we have been."

DeKalb (19-17) was plagued by 21 unforced errors.

'We have seen them play a few times this year and this is by far the best they have looked," DeKalb coach Kyle Milborn said. "They are very balanced and run a very fast tempo offense so you have to be alert at the net at all times. Several times we got caught watching as the ball went past us. But we are young and hopefully we'll learn from this."