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Girls volleyball: Huntley survives scare from McHenry

MACHESNEY PARK - Seldom does a 1-versus-8-seed matchup turn into an epic battle of wills, but that's what happened when Huntley and McHenry clashed in the final of the Class 4 Harlem regional Thursday night.

The eighth-seeded Warriors gave the Red Raiders everything they wanted and more before Huntley finally prevailed, 25-21, 25-27, 27-25.

Huntley fought off 3 match points in the third set.

The Raiders trailed 24-22 until a kill by Julia Johnson got the serve back. A kill by Alyson Dion evened the score, but McHenry's Ava Pauley slammed one home to put the Warriors back in front. Caitlin Thorelius's kill tied it again, and with Adrianna Torres at the service line, Huntley took advantage of a hitting error and finally prevailed when Loren Alberts stuffed Pauley at the net.

"McHenry played an unbelievable game," said Huntley coach Karen Naymola. "They had a great game. At the end it came down to there were quite a few pressure situations and we took advantage of some tips. I think a couple of times they were a little scared to swing, and when the game was on the line, Dion was swinging, Caitlyn was swinging away. I think that's what it comes down to. When the game's on the line, you're going to go down swinging and that was the mentality we had, just go down aggressive. If you're going to lose, you're going to lose playing aggressive."

Dion finished with 23 kills and 22 digs, and Thorelius added 9 kills for Huntley (27-6), which now goes home to play in its own sectional starting Tuesday against DeKalb.

"We didn't come out as strong as we should have and they were playing really well, digging everything," said Dion. "So we just had to come out stronger and start putting balls away and we did that. They were fighting really hard. We just had to want it more."

The second set was a classic, as the biggest lead for either team was 4 points. McHenry led 23-20, but the Raiders fought back to tie it at 24 on a service ace by Dion. But a service error doomed Huntley, as the Warriors rattled off the final 3 points of the set.

Dion had 10 kills in the second set alone to keep Huntley in the game. The Warriors adjusted their blocking schemes in the third game and were able to frustrate the Raider hitters for much of the set before Huntley used some tips and cut shots to find its rhythm again.

"I don't have words," said McHenry coach Lexi Disselhorst. "They just played so hard it was awesome."

Taylor Jakubowski set up the Huntley frontliners all night, finishing with 45 assists. Aleah Amelio helped key the defense with 15 digs.

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