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Girls volleyball: Huntley claims 1st Fox Valley Conference title

Huntley took Prairie Ridge's best shot, got off the canvas and captured its first Fox Valley Conference girls volleyball championship.

The Red Raiders used a balanced attack to knock off the visiting Wolves 25-20, 25-19 in Huntley Thursday night.

Huntley, which lost twice to Cary-Grove, claimed the conference title outright with a 14-2 mark. Crystal Lake Central finished a game back in second place with a 13-3 record.

"This is huge to be the first Huntley team to win a Fox Valley Conference championship," said Huntley coach Karen Naymola. "This is such a hardworking group and they deserve this FVC championship.

"We had great defense all night and got contributions from all our hitters. PR came out with a lot of energy and their defense was digging everything. We made some adjustments and kept our composure.''

The Red Raiders (25-7 overall) clicked on all cylinders in all facets of the game.

The defensive effort was paced by Sarah Zayas with 16 digs while Taylor Jakubowski collected 13 digs. Alyson Dion and Josie Schmitendorf had 9 digs apiece for the Raiders.

Dion (4 aces) and Julia Johnson spearheaded the offensive attack with 10 kills each.

"Everybody works so well together, said Dion, who played her last regular-season match at Huntley before taking her talents to Southeast Missouri State next year. "PR is a tough team but we stayed confident. It is a great feeling to be the first Huntley team to win a Fox Valley Conference championship."

Senior Caitlin Thorelius delivered 9 kills for the FVC champs.

"Our defense and serve receive was very good," said Thorelius. "With Senior Night and the conference championship at stake we came out a little nervous. We stayed composed and played well. Everybody contributed to this conference championship."

Jakubowski, a freshman setter, collected 25 assists.

In Game 1, there were 6 lead changes and ties before Huntley grabbed the lead for good at 14-13 on a kill by Dion.

Led by 3 more kills from Dion the Red Raiders went on a 5-0 run to take a 18-13 advantage. Huntley's biggest lead was 22-15 on a kill by Johnson.

A kill from Dion gave Huntley a 1-0 lead in the match.

Led by 2 aces each by Jakubowski and Johnson, Huntley jumped off to a 7-1 lead in Game 2. The Red Raiders' biggest lead was 22-14 on a kill by Aleah Amelio.

A kill from Thorelius gave Huntley the game, match and FVC title.

Erin McNeil led the Wolves with 12 kills while Allison Cole collected 10 kills.

  Huntley coach Karen Naymola with her team against Prairie Ridge Thursday in Huntley. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Huntley's Josie Schmitendorf digs a serve from Prairie Ridge Thursday in Huntley. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Huntley's Loren Alberts and Alyson Dion block a Prairie Ridge shot Thursday in Huntley. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Huntley's Julia Johnson celebrates a point against Prairie Ridge Thursday in Huntley. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Huntley's Loren Alberts defends against Prairie Ridge's Allison Cole Thursday in Huntley. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.comHuntley's Julia Johnson hits against Prairie Ridge Thursday in Huntley.
  Huntley sings the school song after defeating Prairie Ridge Thursday in Huntley. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Huntley coach Karen Naymola works against Prairie Ridge Thursday in Huntley. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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