Girls volleyball: Huntley has its way with Jacobs
Even with a youthful team which includes only one senior the Huntley Red Raiders wouldn't let a slow start hinder them.
Trailing Jacobs 5-1 early in Game 1, Huntley rebounded to cruise to a 25-15, 25-9 victory over the host Golden Eagles in Fox Valley Conference girls volleyball action in Algonquin Thursday night.
"You have to give Jacobs all the credit to begin the first game," said Huntley coach Karen Naymola. "They came out with a lot of enthusiasm and came out strong. It was a loud atmosphere and they fed off that. We didn't talk and communicate early on. We started to communicate and things turned around."
Huntley (3-0, 3-0) took its first lead of the match at 9-8 on a kill from Loren Alberts. With an 11-8 advantage Huntley, led by the serving of Taylor Jakubowski, seized control of the match. Jakubowski served 4 aces as the Raiders went on a pivotal 10-0 run to take a 21-8 lead.
"Coach always gives me a lot of different zones to work with," said Jakubowski. "I was really mixing my serves well and I was getting my serve in where I wanted it. I felt relaxed and composed and was happy to help the team win."
Naymola is confident Huntley will rack up points with Jakubowski serving.
"Taylor is a very aggressive, accurate and confident server," said Naymola. " I give her a zone to serve and she usually hits it. With her serve, she helped turned the momentum in the match around."
The Red Raiders won Game 1 on a kill by Aleah Amelio, the lone senior on the team, off an assist from Jakubowski.
Huntley made sure there wouldn't be a Jacobs comeback in Game 2 jumping off to a 10-3 lead on a kill by Julia Johnson.
The Golden Eagles never threatened and the Red Raiders claimed Game 2 and the match on a kill from freshman Emma Konie.
Amelio paced Huntley with 6 kills while Konie and Johnson collected 5 kills each. Alberts added 4 kills for the winners.
With 4 aces. Jakubowski collected 3 kills with 13 digs and 13 assists. Josie Schmitendorf delivered 8 assists and Sarah Zayas had 6.
Jacobs (0-3, 0-3) received 2 kills each from Maggie Wallenberger and Kristen Wilson while Autumn Miller delivered 2 aces. Jordyn Kelly and Maddie Breeze led the Golden Eagles' defensive attack with 5 digs apiece.
"I like the way we started both games," said Jacobs coach Lisa Dwyer. "We have a lot of young players with good skills. We are showing the growing pains of a young team. We made way too many unforced turnovers. We have to learn how to deal with adversity within a match."