April 23, 2024
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Girls volleyball: Huntley, Barrington set to clash for Class 4A supersectional crown, trip to state

Red Raiders handed Fillies their only loss of season in September; hope for 1st state tournament appearance since 2001

By Alex Kantecki
Huntley's Georgia Watson, left and Luma Acevedo, right, react to spike of Allyson Panzloff, center, during the IHSA Class 4A Harlem Sectional Championship volleyball match Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, between Huntley and Hononegah at Harlem High School in Machesney Park.

Huntley's Georgia Watson (left) and Luma Acevedo (right) react to the spike of Ally Panzloff during Wednesday's Class 4A Harlem Sectional final against Hononegah in Machesney Park. (Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawm)

Not long after Huntley’s 25-23, 25-22 win over top-seeded Hononegah in the Class 4A Harlem Sectional final Wednesday, the Red Raiders’ attention turned to their next challenge: facing a one-loss Barrington team.

The second-seeded Raiders (32-6) and No. 1 Fillies (38-1) have met twice this year, with each team winning once.

The rivals will meet a third time at 6 p.m. Friday in the Class 4A Dundee-Crown Supersectional, with the winner advancing to the state tournament at Illinois State’s Redbird Arena, beginning Nov. 11.

Huntley is trying to earn its first state berth since 2001, when eight teams made the tournament. It last finished in the top four in 1997 (Class A).

The Raiders lost in the supersectional round last year to Edwardsville and in 2019 to Wheaton Warrenville South. There was no postseason in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Huntley's Avery Gonzalez, center, and Allyson Panzloff, right, block the hit of Hononegah's Anna Ptacin, left, during the IHSA Class 4A Harlem Sectional Championship volleyball match Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, between Huntley and Hononegah at Harlem High School in Machesney Park.

Huntley's Georgia Watson (center) and Ally Panzloff go up for the block against Hononegah during Wednesday's Class 4A Harlem Sectional final in Machesney Park. (Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawm)

A handful of seniors have been a part of the past three sectional championships for Huntley.

This year, they’re hoping for more.

“We’re 1-1 with them, so we’re excited to get another shot,” senior outside hitter Ally Panzloff said of facing Barrington. “I feel like our whole year has been building up to this specific game. We’ll be prepared. We’ve beaten them once. We know we can hang with them.”

The first meeting between the teams was a 25-15, 29-31, 25-19 win for Huntley on Sept. 21 at Barrington, which has stood as the Fillies’ only loss of the year. More recently, Barrington defeated the Raiders 25-16, 25-22 in the championship of the Huntley Invitational on Oct. 8.

The Raiders will have a new-look lineup against the Fillies after they lost one of their top players, senior middle blocker Avary DeBlieck, to a season-ending knee injury in the final moments of last week’s regional final sweep against Harlem.

Huntley has since made changes to its lineup, with some players getting more court time and others switching to new positions, and the depth of the team has shined.

Wednesday’s win against Hononegah saw contributions from up and down the roster.

Senior setter Maggie Duyos, who was has been on the past three sectional champs for the Raiders, along with Panzloff, DeBlieck, Luma Acevedo and Emily Willis, said losing one of their biggest leaders to injury has given Huntley a renewed sense of urgency.

“We’re trying really hard to stay together and stay as a family,” Duyos said. “One person goes down, and it’s all of our jobs to bring each other up. Ever since Avary got hurt, our goal has been to play for Avary. And that’s our goal right now: Get to state for Avary.”

Huntley's Maggie Duyos sets the ball during the IHSA Class 4A Harlem Sectional Championship volleyball match Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, between Huntley and Hononegah at Harlem High School in Machesney Park.

Huntley's Maggie Duyos sets the ball during Wednesday's Class 4A Harlem Sectional final against Hononegah in Machesney Park. (Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawm)

Huntley coach Karen Naymola has been impressed by her team’s resilience.

“Every single player has stepped up,” Naymola said. “Maggie kind of said it best. We’re a family, and we’re going to help our family. And that’s what they’re doing. They’re playing because they don’t want it to end.”

Acevedo tore her MCL against Barrington in September and wasn’t sure if she would make it back in time for the playoffs. The libero beat the timeline recovery by many weeks and, even with a chance of reinjury, Acevedo said she wasn’t going to miss one last chance to play for her high school.

“We’re definitely cherishing every moment we have,” said Acevedo, who doesn’t plan to play in college. “We’re never going to play together again after this [season], so I think we’re just trying to soak everything in. We’re a super-close team.”

Acevedo knows the Raiders will have to be on top of their game to beat a Barrington team going for back-to-back state appearances after placing third last year.

“They’re super scrappy and a great serving team,” Acevedo said. “I think we just have to go in focused. We’re excited. They’re a great team. We love playing them.”

Duyos would like nothing more than to beat Barrington and reach state after coming up a win short last year and in 2019.

“I think we’re all super motivated, and we’re looking for revenge because they beat us on our court and we beat them on theirs,” Duyos said. “This is our last shot at state.”