Girls volleyball: Konie helps Huntley topple Jacobs
Huntley seniors Taylor Jakubowski and Josie Schmitendorf are 4-year starters and prominent players on the 2019 Red Raiders.
You can add junior outside hitter Emma Konie to the list of key cogs in the Red Raiders machine.
Contributing 10 kills, 4 aces and 10 digs, Konie's superb effort propelled top-seeded Huntley to a 25-14, 25-12 win over No. 10 Jacobs in the championship match of the 4A Jacobs regional in Algonquin Thursday night.
It was the fourth straight regional for the Red Raiders.
The 32-5 Raiders advance to Monday's Dundee-Crown sectional against Rockton Hononegah.
Huntley coach Karen Naymola lauded Konie's progress over the last 3 years on the varsity.
"Emma is very very reliable," said the Huntley coach. "She was at her best tonight. It seemed like every time we needed a key kill, ace or a dig tonight Emma came through. Her progress every year as a player has been amazing."
Jakubowski, who will play at Division I Seton Hall, collected 21 assists, 3 kills and 2 aces while Schmitendorf led the defensive attack for the regional champs with 19 digs.
"It is quite an accomplishment for Taylor and Josie to be on 4 straight regional championship teams," said Naymola. "They have been solid players for 4 years. We know we have bigger goals but we are happy to beat a good scrappy Jacobs team on their home floor."
The Golden Eagles had upset on their minds in Game 1. After a kill by Maggie Wallenberger, Jacobs (16-19) led 14-12.
But the Red Raiders responded with a 10-0 run to take a 22-14 advantage.
Four kills by Konie and 3 aces by senior Bridget Bethke led Huntley during the crucial surge. A kill by Konie gave Huntley the first game.
The Red Raiders had absolutely no interest in playing a third game.
Huntley led by Konie's 3 kills and 2 aces along with 3 kills from Kylie Jenkins catapulted to an 11-3 lead in Game 2.
The Golden Eagles climbed to within 16-11 on a kill by Ireland Van Stone but Jacobs couldn't get any closer.
The Red Raiders ended the match on a 9-1 run capped by an ace from Schmitendorf.
Wallenberger led Jacobs with 4 kills. Setter Rachel Kaczorowski had 13 assists while Maddie Breeze paced the defense with 7 digs.
"We had a game plan and we executed it early," said Jacobs coach Lisa Dwyer. "We came out with great intensity and focus. I can't fault our effort. The kids played extremely hard. I am very proud of them. Huntley has so much experience and they deflated us especially in the second game with some great plays."