Girls volleyball notes: Woodstock North, Huntley wrap up conference titles, turn attention to strong finish and postseason

Earlier this week, Woodstock North and Huntley both checked off the first box on their list of season-long goals: winning a conference championship.

The Red Raiders (22-4) won the outright Fox Valley Conference title with a two-set victory over Cary-Grove on Tuesday, improving their conference record to a perfect 15-0.

Woodstock North (23-5), meanwhile, earned wins over Richmond-Burton and Johnsburg to secure at least a share of its third straight Kishwaukee River Conference title. The Thunder can win the KRC outright either with a win in their last match against Woodstock or a Richmond-Burton loss to Johnsburg.

For the Raiders and Thunder, their attention now turns to a strong finish and long postseason run.

“We have a unique opportunity hosting a regional and having the top seed in our subsectional and we have to take advantage of that,” Thunder coach Eric Schulze said. “Right now, we want to be building confidence and understanding what it takes to make the plays that need to be made. We need to maintain that momentum and poise all the way to the end.”

Huntley has a chance to become the first team in the FVC to go 18-0 since the conference moved to 10 teams in 2019. The Raiders finish with Hampshire, Dundee-Crown and Crystal Lake South.

“For us, it’s kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel,” Raiders coach Karen Naymola said. “That’s one goal accomplished, and now we’re going to push even harder to reach the next goal. Everybody in the Fox Valley is good and I feel like this year especially, there have been crazy upsets and matches that could have gone either way.

“We know we have to come out ready for the next three matches. The biggest thing is being able to kind of handle the pressure and play composed.”

Woodstock North setter Kylie Schulze, who recently surpassed 2,000 career assists, has been a part of the past three KRC championships for the Thunder. North got off to its best start in program history at 19-1 and could set the school record for wins in a season (26-9, set last year).

“We obviously have bigger goals than conference, but I think it’d be really cool to do it again as a senior,” Kylie Schulze said. “We’re not putting all the pressure on that and we do hope for a long postseason.”

Mutual respect between Rockets, Thunder: Woodstock North and Richmond-Burton both had a similar game plan for Tuesday’s key KRC match, with both teams trying their best to slow down one of the other side’s top attackers.

Richmond-Burton coach Mike Kamholz felt his team did a good job of containing Thunder senior Katie Wickersheim in the teams’ first meeting, but Tuesday was a different story.

“The last time, we kind of went after [Wickersheim] a bit,” Kamholz said. “We know she’s one of their dominant players. She wanted to send a message back, I think, and she did. We’re proud of her for that. She did a great job.”

Similarly, the Thunder knew they had to get touches on sophomore Elissa Furlan to beat the Rockets.

“Elissa is an incredible attacker and we knew we had to slow her down to have a chance,” North coach Eric Schulze said.

Postseason pairings: The IHSA released the schedules for all postseason matches last week. Regional semifinals for all classes will take place on Oct. 25 and regional finals on Oct. 27.

Woodstock North was the only local team to earn a No. 1 seed.

In Class 4A, Huntley earned a No. 2 seed and will open postseason play against Guilford (No. 7) in the McHenry Regional semifinals. McHenry (3) will face Harlem (5) in the second semifinal, with the winners advancing to the regional championship.

Also in 4A, Jacobs (4) plays Auburn (6) at the Jefferson Regional semifinals. Dundee-Crown (2) will face Larkin (8) at the Hampshire Regional, while host Hampshire (3) faces Elgin (7).

In Class 3A, Woodstock North will try to defend its own regional as the top seed and will play the winner of the play-in match between Harvard (9) and Boylan (8). Woodstock (7) will face Belvidere North (4) in the second semifinal.

The Crystal Lake South Regional includes three local teams. No. 2-seeded Crystal Lake Central will meet Belvidere (6) in the first semifinal, followed by Crystal Lake South (3) and Prairie Ridge (5).

Also in 3A, Burlington Central (3) will play Glenbard South (7) at the St. Francis Regional, while Cary-Grove (7) faces Antioch (10) at the Wauconda Regional semifinals.

In Class 2A, Johnsburg earned a No. 2 seed and will play the winner of St. Edward (9) and North Boone (10) at the Marian Central Regional. Richmond-Burton is the No. 3 seed and will play either Marian Central (6) or Cristo St. Rey Martin (11) in their first match.

Marengo (4) will meet either Aurora Central Catholic (5) or Lisle Sr. (12) in a Rosary Regional semifinal.

In Class 1A, Alden-Hebron (13) begins postseason play in the semifinals against Orangeville (8) as hosts at its own regional.