Huntley manages to get past Jacobs

Huntley was not too pleased with the way it opened Thursday's girls volleyball match at Jacobs.

The Red Raiders squeezed out a 25-21 win, but things just weren't quite right. Huntley responded by jumping out to an early lead in Game 2 and then running away with the game 25-15 and match to spoil Jacobs' senior night in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division match.

"It was better than the first game," said Huntley libero Amy Dion, who finished with 25 digs. "We still could have picked it up."

The Red Raiders (26-9, 6-4) went down 2-0 early before senior Amy Fanella took control of the serve and put Huntley up for good after spouting off straight points. Fanella finished the match with 6 service points to go along with 7 digs.

Although it never managed another lead in Game 2, Jacobs (12-22, 2-8) did come within 9-8 after back-to-back kills from freshman outside hitter Alyssa Ehrhardt (8 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace). Huntley was quick to respond. A Jacobs hitting error and a block kill from Jaina Jackson put the Red Raiders back in control.

Huntley would outscore Jacobs 14-7 the rest of the way.

"We didn't play defense," Jacobs' coach Lisa Dwyer said of Game 2. "We didn't serve receive well. I think they lost their confidence."

Jacobs showed some confidence, especially down the stretch of Game 1. Trailing 17-12 after a Jillian Stock (5 kills) kill, Dwyer called a timeout. Jacobs responded by bring the first game back to a 22-19 deficit.

Samantha Boesch (8 kills) then recorded a huge kill for Huntley, which put it up 23-19. Jacobs answered back with a kill from Brittany White (2 kills, 2 blocks) to come within 23-20. The teams again exchanged points before a serving error gave Huntley the 25-21 victory.

"We played hard tonight," Red Raiders coach Michelle Jakubowski said. "We were a little up and down. (But right now) we're playing a little bit better defense. We're playing a little scrappier."

The Golden Eagles also took advantage of the absence of Huntley kills leader Ashley Smith. The sophomore missed Thursday's regular season finale with an illness, but Jakubowski said she does not have flu-like symptoms and expects Smith back when the Red Raiders practice on Monday.

Huntley also got 6 kills from sophomore Taylor Nepermann and 9 digs and 24 assists from Amanda Carroll. Jacobs was led by 15 digs from Quinn Luehring.