Raiders find deft touch at right time

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HUNTLEY – Huntley sophomore libero Amy Dion came up with the perfect shot at the most opportune time.

Dion dumped a soft shot over Boylan’s frontline with the score tied at 24-24 in the first game of their IHSA Class 4A Huntley Sectional semifinal match Tuesday.

Setter Amanda Carroll directed another well-placed shot into the Titans’ left corner for the game-winner on the next point, and the Red Raiders went on to win, 26-24, 25-19. Carroll served out the final five points of that game to send Huntley (29-9) into the championship match against Cary-Grove
(34-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday.

C-G defeated South Elgin,
25-15, 25-14, in the first semifinal Tuesday.

“That [shot] was a lot of years of experience,” Dion said. “There was a lot of coaching put into that. It was very important that we took the lead there.”

Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski said the 25-24 lead at that point allowed the Raiders to serve aggressively for the final point. Huntley had trailed, 23-20, in the first game before rallying back. Ashley Smith’s kill tied the score at 24-24 to set up the Raiders’ big finish.

“I was so happy to get that [final shot] at the right time,” Carroll said. “We have a lot of heart and desire and never give up, no matter what the score is.”

In the second game, Huntley played ahead most of the way, grabbing a 20-19 lead when Carroll took over and served out the match.

“They’re an aggressive serving team, and we’re a little better passing team than that,” said Boylan coach Amanda Carlson, whose team finished 23-11. “We left a crack in the door and they came busting in.”

Smith led Huntley with eight kills, and Carroll had eight serving points and 21 assists.

“We had so many people stepping up for us,” Jakubow-ski said. “[Katherine] Lowery got four kills in that rotation [in Game 2] to get us the lead.”

C-G got seven kills each from Colleen Hargrove and Kelly Lamberti.

“We definitely played well,” Trojans coach Patty Langanis said. “We were serving pretty consistently, and our offense did a pretty good job mixing things up.”

Huntley is embracing the opportunity of facing C-G on its home court. The Trojans won their two matches this season in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division play, both in two games.

“Our fans helped us out a lot,” Dion said. “We wanted our seniors to play all they can in this gym and to play out of this gym [into the Supersectional].”