There was no big celebration after Huntley wrapped up its second straight Fox Valley Conference championship with a 25-13, 25-17 sweep against Crystal Lake South on Tuesday.

For the Red Raiders, winning the FVC title – something they’ve done three times in the past five seasons – is just the first step in a long list of goals. After going undefeated in conference play a year ago, Huntley expected to be in position to win back-to-back conference titles.

Now the Raiders’ attention shifts to ending the season strong before the start of the playoffs.

“Just keep improving and keep focusing on every game, every point” said coach Karen Naymola, who has led the Raiders to 10 consecutive 20-plus win seasons. “I know we secured the Fox Valley, but our goal is still winning every game. We can’t overlook anybody.

“As awesome as the season has started off, our season is really just about to begin.”

“As awesome as the season has started off, our season is really just about to begin.”

—  Karen Naymola, Huntley coach

The Raiders earned a No. 1 seed in subsectional B of the Class 4A Huntley Sectional. Huntley will play in the Rockford East Regional, with its first match Oct. 24 against either Jefferson or Rockford East.

Hampshire and Jacobs are each No. 3 seeds, while Dundee-Crown and McHenry earned No. 4 seeds in the same sectional.

Crystal Lake South was the only other local team to earn a No. 1 seed. The top-seeded Gators will open the playoffs Oct. 24 in the Class 3A Boylan Regional against Freeport. With a win, South could see either No. 4 Woodstock or No. 6 Boylan for the regional title.

South entered Thursday a win away from its fourth consecutive season with 20 victories.

“I’m super excited for the postseason,” said Gators coach Annie Moore, in her second season. “The girls are excited. I didn’t really know what to expect with so many new faces this year. Tonight [against Huntley], we dipped a little, but it always leads to a good practice because they come into the gym super focused.

“They’re ready to work on what we struggled with tonight. You learn from it and move forward.”

Also in 3A, Crystal Lake Central and Prairie Ridge grabbed No. 3 seeds, and Burlington Central is a No. 4 seed, along with Woodstock.

Richmond-Burton, which won its first Kishwaukee River Conference title since 2016 with a 23-25, 25-22, 25-16 win over Woodstock North on Wednesday, are the highest local seed in 2A.

The No. 2-seeded Rockets will host their own regional, which includes familiar opponents in Johnsburg (No. 5), Marengo (6) and Marian Central (8). R-B last won a regional title in 2015.

In Class 1A, Alden-Hebron opens the postseason against Woodlands Academy on Oct. 23 as hosts at the A-H Regional.

Full schedules for the postseason can be found at IHSA.org.

Playoff bits: Huntley owns the area’s longest current active regional title streak with six in a row.

No other team has won two regional titles in a row, with Hampshire, Johnsburg, Prairie Ridge and Woodstock North each winning regionals last year.

Woodstock North, however, has won three regional titles in the past four seasons, missing only in 2021. The Thunder open their postseason with a tough test against Crystal Lake Central at the 3A Belvidere North Regional.

Huntley has won three straight sectional titles but has been denied a trip to state each year with a loss in the supersectional round. Prairie Ridge was the last local team to go to state in 2018, finishing fourth in Class 4A.

Approaching 400: Woodstock senior Hallie Steponaitis, who will play at NCAA Division I Jacksonville University next year, entered Thursday six kills away from 400.

The 6-foot-3 outside hitter set the Blue Streaks’ program record for kills in a season last fall with 325, but she flew by that number in her final season. Steponaitis has recorded 64.5% of her team’s kills, with the next closest player with 80.

Steponaitis has 854 kills in her four year varsity career. Her freshman year was cut short because of the pandemic, with the Streaks playing only 10 matches. Despite that, she still managed 135 kills as a freshman.

Rockets savor KRC title: Richmond-Burton won the KRC title in 2016, the first year of the conference, but had to wait seven years for its second. It’s a big weight lifted off the Rockets’ shoulders after coming close in recent seasons.

Beating Woodstock North, which had won the previous three KRC titles, to clinch the championship made it all that much sweeter.

“I feel like at the beginning of every match with them, we’re like, ‘Woodstock North. Three-time champions of the KRC,’ and it gets in our heads kind of,” junior outside hitter Elissa Furlan said. “But then we get playing, and we’re like, ‘OK, we got this.’ It’s definitely just a mental thing with them.”