Cary-Grove slips past Huntley
Tuesday's tense girls volleyball match between Cary-Grove and host Huntley went the Trojans' way in a Splitt second.
With the contest tied at a game apiece, the Red Raiders stormed back from a 19-13 deficit in Game 3. Huntley won 7 of the next 9 points and pulled within 22-21 via the 14th and final kill of the match from outside hitter Erin Erb, a 5-foot-11 junior who also had 8 digs.
That's when the Trojans turned to Splitt to power them to victory.
The 6-foot-2 junior middle blocked back-to-back Huntley swings to earn match point for the Trojans. She then finished off the Red Raiders by avoiding a double block with a smart tip to an open spot to clinch a 27-25, 19-25, 25-21 victory in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division.
"We knew they were going to be a tough team and they played awesome tonight, so it was just nice to be able to come in and get a win," said Splitt, who finished with 9 blocks and 8 kills.
Coach Patty Langanis said she would like to see Cary-Grove (11-4, 3-0) run a more versatile, unpredictable offense, but she didn't mind seeing her dependable middle hitter take over when the Trojans needed her in crunchtime.
'This match, I felt like we got real tight," Langanis said. "Huntley was digging up everybody, blocking everybody else so it was like, 'Alli, we're climbing on your back. You'd better win the match for us,' which she ended up doing."
Cary-Grove won the first game, but it was a struggle. The Trojans led 20-17 until the Red Raiders scored 4 straight points to take a lead, capped by Erb's ace. The game was tied at 25 when the Red Raiders served into the net. Cary-Grove finished it off with a double block from Splitt and junior setter Erin Olson to take a 1-0 lead.
The second game was the best of the night for Huntley (7-3, 1-1). Trailing 16-13, the Red Raiders won the next 11 points on libero Haley Arnieri's serve to reach game point. Alyson Dion delivered 1 of her 14 kills and a block during that spree, while setter Kelsey DeWulf added a block and a tip kill.
It was no mystery to Huntley coach Karen Naymola why Huntley excelled in Game 2 but struggled to diversify its offense in Game 3.
"In Game 2 our serve receive was on," Naymola said. "We were able to run three options every time so the block couldn't stick with my outsides. They couldn't stick with one hitter. They had to respect all three hitters. We we were able to run our fast offense and we know that's what's going to win us games.
"Game 3 our serve receive fell apart and we made it easy for the block. I mean, they knew where we were going every single ball when we only have one option on serve receive. That really hurt us. We're a young team. We're working on way to get that control back when the momentum changes."
Olson finished with 24 assists and 3 kills and senior outside hitter Abby Schebel notched 9 kills for Cary-Grove.
DeWulf registered 33 assists for Huntley.