Girls volleyball: Huntley finally breaks through, beats Fremd for 1st trip to state semifinals since 1997
If Huntley coach Karen Naymola wasn’t superstitious before, she is now.
Naymola’s oldest daughter, Red Raiders junior setter Abby Whitehouse, cracked open a fortune cookie Sunday night that foretold good things.
“It said, ‘You’ve got this one in the bag,’” Naymola said. “We were all going crazy.”
Huntley, which two years ago couldn’t put Barrington away despite three match points in a heartbreaking loss in the supersectional round, is feeling good now.
Six-foot-3 outside hitter and Kentucky commit Georgia Watson took a set from junior Rachael Hein and put away match point, and Huntley beat Fremd 25-22, 25-16 Monday in the Class 4A DeKalb supersectional to send the Raiders to state for the first time since 1997.
Huntley (32-8) advances to face Benet — a 25-17, 25-15 winner over New Trier — in a state semifinal at approximately 7 p.m. Friday at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena in Normal.
“This team is the most together team I’ve ever been on,” said Watson, who tallied a team-leading 10 kills. “We’re like sisters. I say it all the time. I would do anything for them, and they’d do anything for me. With that level of trust, it’s a lot of fun to play.”
Watson was on the court for Huntley’s previous two supersectional losses and remembers how hard it was to say goodbye to the senior classes. Two years ago the Raiders, with a handful of Division-I players, thought they were headed to state before Barrington mounted a stunning comeback.
As a freshman, Watson was on the Raiders’ team that fell to Edwardsville in a match also played at DeKalb.
“It’s been some time coming,” Naymola said. “That’s kind of what we talked about, these seniors have been here before. We’ve made it this far. It’s our turn. I knew this was the team that was going to do it. They never gave up.”
Huntley trailed Fremd (33-7) for a good portion of the first set — as much as four points at 15-11 — and did not take its first lead until 18-17 on an ace from junior setter Emily Ernst, who had seven assists. The teams were tied at 17, 18, 19, 20 and 22.
A kill by Diellza Sejdini, one of her four, gave the Raiders a 23-22 lead. After Fremd sent its next shot long, Huntley won the first set after Fremd was called for a back-row attack violation. Fremd argued for four touches against Huntley on the play to no avail.
“We knew [Watson], she was going to be a phenomenal hitter,” Vikings coach Pete Gavin said. “I thought their ball control, particularly in serve receive, was on point, and that allowed them to be in system more often than we were.”
Fremd, which won the Mid-Suburban League title and was looking for its first trip to state in five years, was coming off a down season in 2023 with a 15-23 record.
“This is a special group of girls who knew they wanted to change the way things felt and went last year,” Gavin said. “We had a great group of girls last season, but wins-loss wise, it didn’t go the way we wanted it to. All the girls have been busting their butts, getting better and better.”
Fremd setter Victoria Belmonte returned from two ACL injuries that kept her from playing her sophomore and junior years. She was one of seven seniors on the Vikings that helped turn things back around.
“It was really nice to be back. Elite Eight is an amazing way to end,” Belmonte said. “I’m just really proud of this team. Coming in here and giving it our all, every single ounce of passion that we had just led us to this moment. I’m just proud we got this far.
“I don’t think many thought we’d be able to do it.”
Huntley never trailed in the second set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Fremd cut Huntley’s lead to one point multiple times, but the Raiders’ defense was too tough.
It was rare if a ball hit the floor on Huntley’s side without a touch.
“We made a promise to show up for each other,” said senior libero Alex Goritz, who posted 12 digs. “I’m always going to do my best to make a great defensive play and put up balls for my teammate, so she is able to execute.
“All of us clicked in that moment. We took all the selfishness away.”
Sienna Robertson had five kills for Huntley, Hein had two aces and 11 assists and Izzy Whitehouse added three kills. Stats were not available for Fremd immediately after the match.
With the Raiders’ student section screaming loudly in a section of bleachers behind her, senior defensive specialist Mari Rodriguez served two aces during a four-point run at the end of Set 2 — all but ending any chance of a Vikings’ comeback.
“I’m not gonna lie, I couldn’t breathe,” Rodriguez said. “I was freaking out, which I don’t normally do. It still feels unreal. I still feel like we have to play another set. This is insane.”