Girls volleyball: Huntley impresses in opening win

The sting of losing to St. Charles East in the sectional final on its home court last season is still on the minds of Huntley.

With motivation on their side, the Red Raiders needed only 37 minutes to dispose of Dundee-Crown 25-15, 25-7 in the Fox Valley Conference and season openers for both teams in Carpentersville Tuesday night.

"Last year's loss at home in the sectional final was a tough one to take," said Huntley coach Karen Naymola. "As long as I am the coach here our goal will always be to win conference and get to the state finals. Tonight, we played with nerves in the first game and it showed. The second game we played with much more confidence and were much more consistent."

The catalyst for the Red Raiders is senior and 4-year starter Taylor Jakubowski who garnered 19 assists with 3 aces.

"We were all disappointed about what happened to end our season last year," said Jakubowski, who will play college volleyball at Division I Seton Hall. "It was a terrible feeling. We are greatly motivated by that loss. We have a lot of new players and we were working out the kinks in the first game. We talked and communicated much better the second game. Our main goals are to win the conference and get to state (finals)."

Naymola appreciates what Jakubowski brings to the team.

"Taylor is a 4-year starter and a 4-year captain," said Naymola. "You don't see that many 4-year captains. She has tremendous leadership skills and is a very smart player. It is effortless with her."

Junior outside hitter Emma Konie backed up Jakubowski with 9 kills.

"We lost a lot of hitters and we will depend on Emma a lot more this season," said Naymola. "She is a 3-year starter and had a very good first match of the season."

Kylie Jenkins and freshman Allyson Panzloff added 3 kills each for the winners.

The Red Raiders (1-0. 1-0) got a stiff challenge from the pesky Chargers (0-1, 0-1) in Game 1. Holding a slim 15-13 advantage, the Red Raiders seized control of the game with a 7-0 run to take a 22-13 lead.

Konie, Panzloff, Bower and Konie each had 2 kills during the crucial surge.

Huntley won the game on a kill by Konie off a perfectly executed assist by Jakubowski.

The Red Raiders were never threatened in Game 2. Leading 11-5, Huntley put the game and match away with an 11-0 run. Aided by 3 kills, 2 aces and 4 assists from Jakubowski, the Red Raiders went from a 6-point lead to a 17-point advantage at 22-5.

Huntley won the game and match on a kill by Konie.

D-C (0-1, 0-1) was led by MacKenzie Field and Hannah Krispin with 4 kills each.