Huntley will get to play at home again
Huntley girls volleyball coach Michelle Jakubowski conveyed a simple message to her team before Saturday's regional final against host Crystal Lake South.
"We want to play at the sectionals, not work at it," said the Huntley coach. "After our last regular season home game, we told the girls we want to play on our floor. "
The Red Raiders certainly heeded Jakubowski's words of wisdom. Second-seeded Huntley claimed its second straight regional championship and the 19th in program history with a 25-19, 25-17 victory over the host Gators in the title match of the Class 4A Crystal Lake South regional.
"Our goal all season is play at home in the sectionals," said Jakubowski. "This is a magical group of girls. The sophomores, juniors and seniors all get along so well We played a great match today. After we beat them the first game, I knew they would come out strong in the second game, but we weathered the storm."
Huntley (28-9) will face Hononegah, the winner of the Auburn regional in a semifinal match of the Class 4A Huntley sectional Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The Red Raiders came out in attack mode in the first game and never wavered.
With sophomore standouts Ashley Smith, Taylor Nepermann and Samantha Boesch excelling at the net, Huntley jumped out to a 10-5 lead. Smith's kill gave the Red Raiders a 5-point advantage. The Gators kept battling and tied the game at 16 on a kill by Chloe Guida. But the Red Raiders kept their composure and scored 6 of the final 7 points of the first game. Boesch's kill gave the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead in the match.
With its season in the balance, the Gators stormed out to a 6-3 lead in Game 2. Hannah Burkle's kill gave South the early lead. But the Gators' good fortunes turned ugly quickly.
Aided by 6 South errors, the Red Raiders rattled off 10 straight crucial points. A kill by Smith gave Huntley a 13-6 lead. The Gators pulled to within 18-14 on a kill by Caitlin Schumacher, but couldn't get any closer.
The Red Raiders grabbed the game, match and regional title on an ace by Amy Dion.
Smith led the Red Raiders with 8 kills and Nepermann collected 6 kills.
"We were so ready to play," said Smith. "We weren't nervous at all. Everybody was excited to play. "
Britanny Atkinson led South (26-10) with 6 kills.
"I don't take anything away from Huntley," said South coach Jorie Fontana. "They played a great match. But we must have made 30 errors. That is too many mistakes to overcome."