Georgia Watson, Huntley sweep Libertyville to earn third sectional title in four years

McHENRY – Huntley’s Georgia Watson knows talent.

The Kentucky commit, after all, played varsity volleyball on teams that advanced to the supersectionals her freshman and sophomore years. That mattered little, however, when the Red Raiders faced Libertyville in the Class 4A McHenry Sectional final Thursday night. And it still mattered little after Huntley won 25-16, 25-23.

“At this point, it’s not even about talent,” Watson said. “It’s just about how well you play together. This team is probably the best team I’ve ever been on in terms of togetherness and just trusting each other, and I think that’s what’s taken us this far.”

Huntley (31-8) is back in the supersectionals for the third time in four years and will play Fremd at 6 p.m. Monday at DeKalb. Last season’s Red Raiders graduated four players who are playing college volleyball, including Morgan Jones (Missouri).

“A lot of people thought that we wouldn’t be as good as were the previous years,” Huntley senior outside hitter Diellza Sejdini said. “Going into this season, me and a bunch of the other girls wanted to prove everyone wrong.”

Libertyville (26-13) won a sectional title last year but entered the season with only two returning starters in junior middle Avery Maddux and sophomore libero Charlie Fleegle. Wildcats coach Greg Loika said his team was playing its best volleyball in the past month.

“Loud environment,” Libertyville senior setter Makenzie Tyrrell, who had 18 assists and an ace, said of Thursday night’s final. “We came in with the mindset to give it all we got. Huntley’s obviously a very good team, but this is a team we can beat. We just didn’t execute the correct way.”

Huntley did, especially in the second set, as Libertyville picked up its game after the Raiders’ serving gave the Wildcats trouble in the opener. Sejdini had two of her four kills down the stretch, the first breaking a 21-21 tie and the second giving her team a 23-21 lead.

“It felt great, especially with everyone here,” said Sejdini, who was the beneficiary along with her teammates of a loud, spirited student section for the second time in three nights at McHenry. “You can just feel [the energy] after the ball hits the ground. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Watson led the way again for Huntley, totaling eight kills and three aces. The 6-foot-3 righty used a couple of off-speed kills, an essential part of her repertoire, in the second set, and both proved big. The first, a crosscourt hit, got the Raiders within 18-15. Her last one, a cut, landed just inside the antennae and ended the match, causing her teammates to spill onto the court and celebrate.

“I just saw that they had two blockers up in front of my face and that the libero was back,” Watson said of her match-winner. ”[The off-speed attacks] have definitely been a part of growing my game. I have a pretty good arm and I’ve been known as a stronger hitter, but being able to mix up my shots, when I’m hitting deep, people are moving back, and then I can tip.”

“She’s smart,” Huntley coach Karen Naymola said of Watson. “There’s a reason why she’s going to Kentucky. She knows where to put the ball.”

With Mari Rodriguez serving, Huntley took control of the first set by scoring eight straight points to go up 9-2. Rodriguez served one of her three aces during the run, and three straight aces by Watson stretched the Huntley lead to 15-11. Rachael Hein added another ace for Huntley, before a Watson kill finished it.

“We knew they were an exceptional serving team, and if there’s been a bit of chink in our armor this season, it’s been our serve-receive,” Loika said. “Sometimes it’s lacked steadiness, and I think we settled back a little bit in a way we haven’t in a couple of weeks, but they were putting the pressure on with their serves. They’re tough.”

Claire Evans paced Libertyville with eight kills and five aces, four in the second set, including back-to-back early. Molly Lyon and Elle Knight had six and four kills, respectively, and Grace Coughlin added three kills.

Huntley also received seven kills from Sienna Robertson and seven digs from libero Alex Goritz. Emily Ernst and Rachel Hein each had eight assists.

“It’s a special group,” Naymola said, “because not only have a lot of the seniors been a part of our program for four years, I feel like a lot of them I’ve seen since they were seventh and eighth graders. Mari (Rodriguez’s) mom coached with us, and so she grew up in the gym with us. Georgia, we’ve been keeping an eye on her since she was like a sixth grader. I think it’s a group that has all the talent, but more importantly they’ve got the cohesiveness, and they’re a great group of kids.”