Girls volleyball: Amelio, Huntley handle Dundee-Crown

Dundee-Crown honored its six seniors before Thursday night's match with visiting Huntley. The Red Raiders have just one senior on their roster. But she was a big factor in the Red Raiders' 25-13, 25-21 Fox Valley Conference girls volleyball win.

Aleah Amelio had 5 kills early in the second set to propel the Raiders. She accounted for 5 of 7 points in one stretch as Huntley built a big lead in set 2 then survived a furious Charger comeback.

Huntley appeared headed for a comfortable win, leading 20-12. But the Chargers went on a 9-3 tear to make it 23-21 with the Chargers' Jenna Brown still serving.

After a timeout, however, the Raiders regained control. A kill by Loren Alberts and a tip by Taylor Jakubowski sealed it for Huntley (2-0).

"Our whole goal this season is trying not to make two or three mistakes in a row," said Huntley coach Karen Naymola. "You're going to make mistakes, but it's about moving on from that mistake. Unfortunately, in that run, we weren't able to do it. But we called a timeout, set up a play, and Loren Alberts executed it."

Jenna Thelen led the Chargers' comeback. Every time D-C needed a big play, she seemed to come up with it. She finished with 6 kills, 2 aces and 2 blocks for the Chargers (1-1).

Amelio finished with 7 kills for Huntley.

"She's our only senior, so we rely on her a lot," Naymola said. "She did a good job of taking control of the match when we needed her."

Emma Konie added 5 kills for the Raiders. Jakubowski finished with 15 digs and 22 assists, while Sarah Zayas added 10 digs.

The comeback came a bit too late for the Chargers but provided valuable experience in late-game situations.

"Our starting lineup consisted of 6 seniors, a junior, and a freshman, but they don't all have varsity experience and they haven't all worked together yet," said Charger coach Christine Hopkins-Muehl. "We like to think we're kind of young in that respect. We don't look at it necessarily as winning and losing, but winning and learning."

Thelen finished with 6 kills, 2 blocks, and a pair of aces for the Chargers. Irene Martin added 4.

Brown added 10 assists and 4 digs, while Zoe Sitarz had 13 digs.

Huntley led the first set 7-6 before going off on a 15-4 tear to take control. A kill by Julia Johnson made it 21-10 and the Raiders finished it out from there.