Defense lifts Huntley to big win over Chargers

Huntley knew it had the hitters and the offensive firepower to stay with Dundee-Crown.

But, the Red Raiders would need a stellar defensive effort to upset the Chargers.

Huntley got what it was looking for.

Led by 15 digs from Taylor Cairns and 9 digs each from Kristen Bergquist and Toni Jaehnig, the Red Raiders knocked off Dundee-Crown 25-14, 25-21 in a Fox Valley Conference crossover match in Carpentersville Thursday night.

"We have really been focusing on defense in practice and we knew to beat D-C tonight we would have to play very well on the defensive end," said Bergquist. "We really got after it and were diving all over the place. We didn't want anything to hit the floor.

"This is an exciting win over a very good team at their place."

The Red Raiders (5-5) also excelled in the serving area.

Cairns led the way with 6 aces while Bergquist delivered 3 aces.

"We had about 5 points in the first game where we didn't serve well," said Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski. "Other than that, we really served tough. We played Cary (Cary-Grove) tough and lost to a very good (Crystal Lake) South team. We have played a lot of good teams so it is nice to beat a good team on the road."

The Red Raiders were certainly the aggressor in Game 1. Led by 2 aces from Carns and 3 kills each from Bergquist and Stephanie Aroworade Huntley raced off to a 11-3 lead.

The Chargers got to within 19-14 on a kill by Amanda Lutzow. But D-C (7-3) didn't get any closer.

Allyson Stellmach's 3 kills propelled Huntley to a 6-0 run as the visitors claimed Game 1.

D-C came out charged up in Game 2.

A kill by Lutzow gave the Chargers a 10-6 lead. Huntley battled back and took the lead for good, 18-17 on a ace by Carns.

The Red Raiders' senior followed with 2 more aces as Huntley built a 3-point cushion, 20-17.

A kill by Aroworade gave the Red Raiders the game and match.

Bergquist led the Huntley offense with 9 kills.

Lutzow and Kathleen Collingbourne led the Chargers with 5 kills each.

"We played awesome Tuesday against PR (Prairie Ridge), but we were very flat tonight," said Dundee-Crown coach Tracy Williams.

"I can't explain it. Our serve receive was awful. I thought Amanda Lutzow played well."

Fox Valley Lutheran Academy d. Christ Lutheran Academy: Fox Valley Lutheran Academy (4-4) defeated Christ Lutheran Academy 25-6, 25-15. Alicia Woock led Fox Valley Lutheran Academy with 5 kills and 2 aces. Sarah Mounger contributed with 11 aces while teammates Katie Mazur and Megan Pfortmiller each had a pair of aces.

Waubonsie Valley d. South Elgin: In an Upstate Eight Conference match the Storm (2-7, 0-3) fell to Waubonsie Valley 25-16, 25-18. South Elgin's Hayley Bradley tallied 4 kills with 2 aces while Alyssa Krause recorded 3 aces but it wasn't enough to put South Elgin in the lead.

Illiana Christian d. Westminster Christian: The Warriors (2-8, 0-2) fell to Illiana Christian in the Private School League by scores of 25-13, 25-21. Sarah Russell collected 18 assists for Westminster while Abby Stevenson also contributed with 5 kills.

St. Charles North d. Bartlett: The North Stars (8-3) remained undefeated in three Upstate Eight Conference matches with their 25-19, 25-16 win in Bartlett. Elin Smith finished with seven assists, three kills, three aces, and three digs. Rachel Huber added seven kills and Annie Stoermer set 12 assists.

Naperville North d. Naperville Central: Naperville North's Colleen Ward left her coach in awe of her performance in the first game against Naperville Central.

"I'm speechless," Huskies coach Jennifer Urban said after watching Ward drop 10 kills and a game-point ace on their rival.

As it turned out, Ward was just getting started. The 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter slammed 29 kills on the night to power the host Huskies to a 25-22, 19-25, 25-22 triumph in a DuPage Valley Conference girls volleyball slugfest Thursday.

"Who can really stop Ward?" Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson said afterward.

"She's a special player," Urban said. "She is a very physical player in the front row and she'll find ways to score whether it's hitting in the seams or hitting off hands. She is tough to defend against."

Ward called for the ball often and setter Jordan Pappas got it to her to score on a bunch of big hits and handful of tips.

"I was just mixing it up a little bit," said Ward, who made only 4 hitting errors while landing 7 kills from the back row. "I thought our team did really well. I thought our defense stepped up a lot. We were ready to play. We were focused the whole day."

Four kills and a block by Ward fueled Naperville North (9-1, 4-0) to an 8-3 lead in the third game. Then Naperville Central (8-2, 2-2) uncharacteristically committed 5 errors in the next 6 points to allow the Huskies to stretch their advantage to 13-4.

"We had a couple plays that you can't afford to make in big matches," Isaacson said.

The Redhawks pulled within 20-18, but Ward proved to be too much. She put down kills for 3 of her team's final 5 points, including the last 2 from the back row.

Urban made it a point to also credit her team's defensive effort. Christine Wu came up with 21 digs, Julie Chin had 15 and Ward totaled 12.

Rebecca Heath unloaded 18 kills and Emily McGee had 13 for Naperville Central.