Huntley volleyball wins in dramatic fashion

Huntley refused to lose. It's that simple.

Facing match point 5 times Tuesday night, the resilient Red Raiders were able to pull out a thrilling 16-25, 27-25, 26-24 win over Rockford Guilford to advance to the championship game of the Class 3A Prairie Ridge sectional.

Huntley (24-14) will take on Crystal Lake South at 7 p.m. Thursday for the sectional title and a spot in Saturday's Elgin supersectional.

"The girls gave an amazing effort," said Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski. "This is the most thrilling match I have been involved with in coaching for 13 years. We overcame 4 service errors but the girls weren't going to lose."

Down 24-21 in the decisive third game, freshman Ashley Smith scored the Red Raiders' final 5 points on kills to give the Red Raiders the game and match.

"Ashley was absolutely amazing at the end of the match," said Jakubowski. "She didn't play like a freshman."

Smith finished the game with 13 kills and senior Allyson Stellmach contributed 6 kills for the winners.

"We were a little shaky in the first game," said Stellmach. "Once, we settled down we were all right. It was very nerve-racking, but we were determined to win. The atmosphere and the intensity was amazing."

The Red Raiders also had to rally to win Game 2. Down 15-7, Huntley didn't take the lead until a kill from Stellmach gave the Red Raiders 26-25 advantage. A kill from Katherine Lowery knotted the match at 1-1.