Girls volleyball: Barrington staves off 3 match points to stun Huntley in Class 4A supersectional

CARPENTERSVILLE – Barrington was one point away from seeing its magical season come to an end three different times against Huntley on Friday.

The Fillies, however, didn’t see it that way.

“Everybody out there, we have trust in each other,” said senior outside hitter Jess Horwath, who had a team-high nine kills and 10 digs for the Fillies. “We know that when we’re down, we can always come back. We just had to focus one point at a time, that was really big for us.

“It’s unreal to think tonight could have been our last [match]. That kept us going.”

The top-seeded Fillies staved off three match points to shock the No. 2 Red Raiders 10-25, 25-14, 28-26 and earn a trip back to the state tournament for the second year in a row and 10th time in program history.

Barrington (39-1) advances to face Benet at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 in the semifinals at Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena in Normal. Huntley (32-7), which has won three consecutive sectional titles, came up one win short of reaching the state tournament again.

The Raiders led 23-19 in the third set and had match points at 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25.

Each time, the Fillies had an answer.

“We just talked about one point at a time, we just needed to settle down,” Barrington coach Michelle Jakubowski said. “The one thing I say about these girls is they just get it done. They’re so composed. Never too high, never too low. It’s a testament to who they are, how they practice and how they believe in what we do.”

With her team trailing 26-25, Horwath kept swinging away on the outside and came up with her ninth kill of the match to stave off a third match point. The next point was a bit fluky, with Huntley’s Georgia Watson passing the ball high into the air. The ball hit the backboard of a raised basketball hoop and fell to the ground for a Barrington point.

The Fillies and Raiders each had two chances to terminate the next point. Huntley senior outside hitter Ally Panzloff (team-high 13 kills, nine digs, three aces) took a swing on the left pin but the ball sailed long, giving match point to Barrington as the Fillies stormed the court to celebrate.

Huntley coach Karen Naymola thought her team played its best match of the year.

“We played some of the best defense we have all year,” Naymola said. “Couple of things could have gone either way, and it is a different outcome. It’s a tough match to lose because they put so much heart and fight into it. I couldn’t be more proud of their performance this whole year.

“I think a lot of teams doubted that we’d come this far once we lost [senior middle blocker Avary DeBlieck to a season-ending injury in the regional final], and to watch them pull together and play like this, it’s a win. It’s hard to see it right now, but it’s a win.”

Watson tied Panzloff for the Raiders’ team lead with 13 kills and nine digs. The sophomore was especially big in the third set, many of her kills resulting in the loudest celebrations for Huntley.

“We were playing our hearts out,” Watson said. “That’s the hardest I’ve seen our team fight in a very long time. The environment was crazy, we were pushing so hard. We wanted it so bad.”

Gwen Adler had 14 assists, 10 digs and two blocks for Barrington, Molly Kozak had 13 digs, and Jenna Meitzler had seven kills and eight assists. Berkeley Ploder and Hope Regas both had four kills, and Sarah Jensen added 12 digs.

Maggie Duyos had 27 assists and 13 digs for Huntley, Morgan Jones had five kills and three blocks, and Emily Willis tallied three blocks. Panzloff added three aces.

The Raiders, who won the Fox Valley Conference with a perfect 18-0 record, graduate nine seniors. Huntley handed Barrington its lone loss of the season in September.

“It’s just frustrating because we were up 23-19 and we couldn’t close,” Duyos said. “But I think we played together really well. I remember on past Huntley teams, they were strong but not this strong. We really were a family.”

The Fillies are looking to top their third-place finish at state from last year. Barrington’s best finish ever was runner-up in 1975, 2000, 2002 and 2003.

“It’s so exciting, we’ve been working for this literally since Nov. 12 last year,” Adler said. “We’ve been working for that one goal. To see it happen is surreal.”