Huntley serves up a regional title

Huntley practices serving for at least 30 minutes every day.

The Red Raiders' practice turned them into volleyball's version of a Denny's Restaurant - Huntley served it up all day and any way it wanted to.

With 7 combined aces from Amy Fanella and Amy Dion, the Red Raiders claimed a 25-12, 25-11 victory over host DeKalb in the Class 4A DeKalb regional Saturday.

"I was just so happy because our team was so up," said Fanella, who notched 4 aces and 11 service points. "Our team is a strong serving team. Tonight we did exceptional at serving."

The regional title marks the first for the Red Raiders in Class 4A and the first volleyball title for Huntley since 2002. The 2002 title was the last in a string of 12 straight regional crowns in the dynasty years of former coach Larry Kahl.

With 3 freshmen and a sophomore in the starting lineup, Saturday's victory may kick start a new dynasty run for the Red Raiders (23-14), who will play Rockford Guilford Tuesday in the Prairie Ridge sectional.

If the Red Raiders come out like they did against DeKalb (15-15) anything is possible.

"If we play like we did tonight, we'll have confidence," Fanella said.

The junior gave Saturday's match a big boost of confidence when she took over the serve with Huntley down 3-2 in Game 1. Fanella rallied off 4 straight points and Huntley never trailed again. Fanella also took the final 5 points of the game, with an ace and 2 service points.

"We've won a lot of matches with aggressive serving," Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski said. "We had a game plan and that was to stop (Courtney Thomas). I don't think I've ever had a game plan (run) as well."

Huntley also got 6 kills from sophomore Katherine Lowery, 5 from freshman Ashley Smith and 17 assists and 2 blocks from junior Amanda Carroll.

But it was Dion who did the damage with the serves. The freshman took over the serve with Huntley up 19-9 in Game 2. When she was finished the libero had given the Red Raiders a 23-9 advantage, including netting an ace. She finished with 3 aces and 5 service points.

"Our coach does a really good job having us practice serves," Dion said. "It really helped us. We stayed level and finished the game on a high note."