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Tearful goodbyes and seasons ending are hardly the easiest to process. For a St. Charles East squad making its third consecutive sectional final appearance, though, a 25-13, 25-15 loss to Huntley in the Class 4A Dundee-Crown Sectional final presented an opportunity to reflect on how far it came. Even one year removed from a supersectional appearance. "We lost our key player Mckenna Slavik [now a freshman at Clemson] from last year, and we didn't really know what we were going to see out of this team this year, what [the season] was going to bring," Garland said. "I know we started off our season with a very first win on our new gym court," Garland continued. "It really set a tempo for our whole season. We came so much further than I was hoping. We won regionals, we beat [St. Charles] North, and that was a huge goal of ours. I'm overall super proud of our team." (Matthew Apgar)
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The Saints (22-14) had ended Huntley's season two years in a row. They did so in the sectional semifinals in 2017 and the sectional final last year. The Red Raiders (32-6) finally earned their seemingly elusive sectional title, first since 2001. "It's just so exciting," Huntley coach Karen Naymola said. "With the group that we have, as close as they are, this means everything to them. We're not done yet. We have bigger things to do." The first order of business was reversing recent history against East. "That was kind of our motivation going in," Naymola said. "You don't get a lot of second chances in any season, and to be able to be matched up with the team that's knocked you out twice going in, it was perfect motivation for them." (Matthew Apgar)
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The Red Raiders in both sets ripped off big scoring runs when they needed to, while also frustrating the Saints offensive attack with superb digging and defensive play. In the first set, Huntley had a slim 7-6 lead, but a quick 5-0 fueled by Katelyn Bower and Kylie Jenkins helped put the Red Raiders in prime position to control the tempo. Huntley eventually led 14-10 and Emma Konie pounded two consecutive kills before Lauren Pondel responded with a kill for East. Saints attack errors and strong play up the middle from Bower allowed the Red Raiders to ultimately cruise 25-13. In the second set, Huntley took an 11-7 lead, but a 4-0 run with a kill from Anita Prybell, a Huntley net violation, and Kate Goudreau's kill and block knotted it up 11-11. (Matthew Apgar)
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A crucial 8-0 run from the Red Raiders from a barrage of Taylor Jakubowski, Ashley Konecki and Kylie Jenkins made the difference down the stretch. Goudreau's kill ended the run. Skyler Misch and Prybell combined for a pair of blocks to make it 21-14 Huntley, and Amarion Isbell tallied the Saints final point of the season. "It wasn't in the cards tonight," Saints coach Jennie Kull said. "It was almost effortless for [Huntley],' Kull continued on some of the Huntley scoring runs. "They were like a machine tonight. They were in rhythm, they were moving and we just didn't have an answer." (Matthew Apgar)
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Libero Josie Schmitendorf led Huntley with 25 digs, while Konie followed with 16. Jenkins had 12 digs. Jakubuski, a Seton Hall recruit, led with 23 assists. Konie had six kills. Goudreau led the Saints with four kills, while Isbell had three. Lauren Pondel led with 11 digs, while Kayla Daros had 10 digs. Nina Scoliere had eight digs to complement nine assists, a team-high. (Matthew Apgar)