Girls volleyball notes: Huntley embracing high expectations

Huntley’s practices leading up to the regular season often are grueling and designed to prepare the Red Raiders for the challenge of the Fox Valley Conference.

Through the first 1 1/2 weeks of the season, Huntley has been up to the task.

“They were ready to go,” Huntley coach Karen Naymola said of last week’s season-opening victory against Crystal Lake Central. “We really don’t do a lot of live scrimmages in practice. It’s all skill work and drills, and we try to make practices harder than any game we’ll ever compete in.

“This was a time for them to go out and have fun.”

Huntley is off to a 3-0 start with two-set wins against Central, McHenry and Prairie Ridge. The Raiders have four NCAA Division I commits: middle blocker Avary DeBlieck (Miami, Florida), outside hitter Ally Panzloff (Brown), setter Maggie Duyos (Austin Peay) and outside hitter Morgan Jones (Indiana).

Many see Huntley as the favorite to win the FVC.

“We know that we have a lot of offensive weapons, and our defense is very scrappy,” Duyos said. “We’re going to get every other team’s best. We’re looking to have a really good season. I think we’re hungry for it.”

Naymola thinks her players’ competitive schedule during the club season can pay off once high school season starts. She said this year’s team is among her most talented in 11 years at the school.

“I think it helps because all of the kids are always being pushed,” Naymola said. “They’re playing against these other college kids, and everybody is constantly being pushed and everybody is constantly improving.”

Huntley last won the FVC championship in 2019, and this year’s Raiders hope to finish in the same position.

“Our goal is to keep meshing as a team,” Naymola said. “Obviously, there’s a different pressure on us this year than there’s been in the past. We’re still getting used to that part, playing comfortable and composed and relying on our seniors for their leadership.”

Tigers rebuilding: At one point during last week’s FVC opener against Huntley, Crystal Lake Central had four sophomores, a freshman and a senior on the court at the same time. This year’s Tigers will be mostly new, as the team lost eight players to graduation, including six starters.

Only senior outside hitter Bree Hubacher and sophomore middle blocker Siena Smiejek saw varsity time last year. Hubacher was second on the team with 124 kills behind Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection McKenna Timmerman (331 kills), now at Gardner-Webb. Smiejek spent a good part of last season on JV.

Second-year Tigers coach Amy Johnson liked what she saw in a season-opening win over Marian Central but knows the early part of the season likely will have ups and downs. Central, after victories against Jacobs and Cary-Grove, is off to a strong 3-1 start.

“Against Marian, we did some real good things. I liked what we saw in terms of the team’s energy and cohesiveness,” Johnson said. “They were firing on all cylinders, and we were hoping to carry that over to our match against Huntley and take another step. Unfortunately, they’re a team that can take it out of you pretty quick.

“I’m excited to see the steps this team takes. They’re a great group, and they work their butts off. We’re going to have to play team ball every single night.”

Skyhawks’ stars: Johnsburg’s Delaney Stern and Emmy Wizceb had quite the season debut last week in a 25-15, 25-21 sweep against Harvest Christian, with both players setting single-match records for their school.

Stern, a junior, broke a team record with 38 assists, and Wizceb put away a team-record 22 kills in the two-set victory. Stern and Wizceb were Johnsburg’s two All-KRC selections last season and will play a big role in leading the Skyhawks to what they hope is a successful season in the KRC.

Wizceb, a senior, is committed to Wisconsin-Oshkosh and has a chance to break the Johnsburg record for career kills. She had 186 kills and 90 blocks last year. Stern set the team’s single-season record for aces (65) last year, adding 373 assists.

Dundee-Crown enjoys winning start: Dundee-Crown’s FVC result against Burlington Central didn’t go the Chargers’ way in the end (a 25-23, 21-25, 25-22 loss), but coach Tiffany Dumas has been thrilled by what she’s seen in the first game action.

The Chargers already have more FVC wins than they did all of last year after three-set wins over Cary-Grove and Hampshire. D-C worked on building a better team culture during the offseason, and Dumas thinks that is already paying off.

Junior middle blocker Audrey Prusko led the Chargers with 11 kills and four blocks against Central. Kylie Hanson chipped in nine kills and 10 assists.

“It’s a team effort with this group, and that’s why so far we’ve been successful,” said Dumas, whose team has taken 10th, ninth and eighth in the FVC the past three years. “To me, this was a success tonight. I know we lost, but it was successful because we fought until the last point.”