Huntley senior Antonio Miramontes wishes he had played volleyball last season. He just stopped showing up his sophomore year, he said, then didn’t go out for the team last spring while he focused on his school work.

Then last winter, he tore a ligament in his left ankle, which essentially cost him his senior season of basketball. He talked to his buddies Lucas Felix and Deven Huerta, and they told him to come out for volleyball again and reunite with them.

Truth is, Miramontes was bored. He missed volleyball.

So his decision was made.

“I just wanted to do something,” Miramontes said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to come back to volleyball.’ So I came back, and I love playing it more than I did my freshman year and my sophomore year. It’s been my favorite year playing with the guys.”

Huntley wrapped up its regular season Thursday night with a 24-23, 25-20 loss to visiting Grant on senior night, then celebrated its seven seniors – Miramontes, Felix, Huerta, Barsbek Ulanbekuulu, Bilal Khan, Justin Drawer and Derek Jakubowski – with parent introductions, player posters, balloons and cookies.

Red Raiders coach Gerry Marchand smiled throughout it all, proud of his team, which has put together the best season in the program’s 12-year history. Huntley (17-16) is seeded fourth in the Larkin Sectional and opens state tournament action at 10:30 a.m. Saturday by hosting No. 13 Larkin in a quarterfinal of the Rockford Guilford Regional.

The Raiders have realistic hopes of making to the regional final, which would be a first in program history.

“Some of the boys have been playing since eighth grade on the same team, and I think that’s making a huge difference, just the fact that they know where each other is going to be,” Marchand said. “More guys played volleyball in the offseason than we’ve had before. That makes a big difference.”

Junior right side Jacob Rutkowski and junior setter Brady Soss started playing volleyball when they were Marlowe Middle School eighth graders. That’s when Marchand started a boys volleyball program at the middle school level.

Now, Huntley’s varsity program is reaping the rewards with success on the court. Players such as Rutkowski, Soss, Ulanbekuulu and junior Mac Nagle also play club ball.

“This year’s a lot better because most of us have played in a club team together at Top Flight [in Elgin],” said Rutkowski, a hard-hitting 6-foot lefty who slammed four kills against Grant. “A lot of that skill and team bonding transferred over to this season.”

While Huntley lost more than it won in past seasons, that didn’t take away the fun for Ulanbekuulu, another Raider who rips the ball. The 6-3 outside hitter had seven kills against Grant to lead Huntley.

“They’ve been a blast,” Ulanbekuulu said of the three seasons before this one. “I haven’t worried too much about winning or losing. I’ve had so much fun that everything just flew by.”

Ulanbekuulu didn’t start playing volleyball until he joined his dad’s men’s team when he was in eighth grade. Huntley’s success this season has put a smile on his face.

“It means a lot to me because I put in a lot of work to help change this program as a whole,” Ulanbekuulu said. “I know that we weren’t too strong the past couple years, but I really wanted to make a change to that, and I feel like I did.”

Miramontes wanted to commit to this volleyball season so much that he quit his job at Dunkin’.

“I was like, ‘Why did I not play my junior year and why did I quit my sophomore year?’ ” Miramontes said. “I should have just kept on playing.”

The 6-1 middle blocker is enjoying this season so much that he tolerates the pain that he still has in his ankle.

“It’s still kind of swollen, and it hurts sometimes,” Miramontes said. “But I just play through it because I’m a man.”

Marchand, who started Huntley’s program, says he hears from opposing coaches and former Raiders about how much his program has improved.

Huntley, however, is the only McHenry County high school that has boys volleyball. So the Raiders travel to Rockford, Lake Forest, Elgin, Aurora, St. Charles, Gurnee – anywhere to play matches.

“The sad part is that no one else in the county is picking up [the sport],” Marchand said. “The Fox Valley Conference won’t pick it up, and that’s what makes me angry because there are boys that are playing for club and can play for their school and don’t get the chance to. ... It’s cool that people are noticing [the program]. Hopefully our conference notices. That’s all I want to happen. I just want this conference to step up, wake up and have boys volleyball.”