Girls volleyball: Cary-Grove fights off Huntley
Cary-Grove realized defeating Huntley, winners of 10 straight matches, for a third time this season would not be an easy task.
It wasn't.
When the last volleyball was spiked, the top-seeded Trojans captured their third straight regional crown with a hard-fought 28-26, 25-14 victory over eighth-seeded Huntley in the title game of the Class 4A Jacobs regional Thursday night.
Cary-Grove (31-5) advances to the Hampshire sectional to play Crystal Lake Central Tuesday at 6 p.m. Central defeated host Dundee-Crown 21-25, 25-19, 25-13 to win the D-C regional.
"Huntley played an incredible first game," said Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis. "They were digging everything we hit. We have so many seniors that have played in so many big matches. They didn't panic. We played so much more relaxed in the second game. "
The first game of the evening was a classic with 15 lead changes or ties. The biggest advantage for either team was 3 points.
With the score tied at 26, the Trojans scored the final 2 points on a kill by Rachel Rosch and a game-ending ace from Emily Schuster.
"The first game came down to a few unforced errors," said Huntley coach Karen Naymola. "We were really deflated going into the second game that we lost the momentum and we had trouble with serve receive."
The Trojans used the momentum from the first game to start Game 2. After a kill from Rosch, the Trojans enjoyed a 12-3 lead. The Red Raiders (24-14) couldn't get any closer.
Cary-Grove's biggest lead was 20-8 after a kill from Allie Splitt.
The Trojans won the game, match and regional crown on a kill by Maddy Katchen.
"There were certainly some jitters in the first game," said Splitt. "Huntley played great but we were confident we could win the first game. We played more relaxed in the second game."
Splitt paced the Trojans with 10 kills followed by 7 kills from Erin Olson (3 aces) and 5 kills from Sarah Graham. Delaney Bayer contributed 10 digs for the winners.
"It is always nice to win a regional," said Bayer. "We tweaked some little things between the first and second game and played better in all aspects in the second game."
Alyson Dion paced Huntley with 11 kills and 3 aces. Erin Erb, in her last match as a Red Raider, collected 5 kills.