Prairie Ridge, Huntley look to make most out of state opportunity

The thrill and excitement of overcoming a 25-10, first-set loss to St. Francis, the two-time defending state champions, during Monday’s Class 3A Grayslake Central Supersectional was overwhelming – in a good way – for Prairie Ridge.

After the shock and celebration subsided, the Wolves needed a nap.

“I think they almost couldn’t believe it,” first-year coach Hilary Agnello said. “The bus ride home I figured it would be crazy and yelling the whole time, and it was for a good five, 10 minutes. And then suddenly the whole bus just fell asleep.

“They were exhausted.”

Prairie Ridge had not suffered a worse set loss all season. How the team responded – with a 10-25, 25-10, 25-17 come-from-behind win – now has the Wolves making their first state appearance since taking fourth six years ago in Class 4A.

Prairie Ridge will be accompanied at state by Fox Valley Conference rival Huntley, which beat Fremd 25-22, 25-16 to win the Class 4A DeKalb Supersectional and earn its first trip to the semifinals since 1997. The Red Raiders had lost their past three supersectionals, all since 2019.

Top-seeded Prairie Ridge (27-13) will play second-seeded Limestone (31-9) in a 3A state semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Illinois State University’s CEFCU Arena in Normal, and top-seeded Huntley (32-8) will play No. 1 Benet (39-1) in a 4A semifinal at 7 p.m.

The last time two FVC teams went to state in the same year was 2009, when Cary-Grove won the 4A championship and Crystal Lake Central took fourth in 3A. Prairie Ridge was the last local team to go to state in 2018.

For the Wolves, Monday’s wild win over St. Francis took a lot out of them.

“To get that [first-set] score handed to us was real emotional,” senior libero All Rogers said. “It’s incredible how we all said, ‘We’re not going down like that.’ We had a drive to keep going.”

The feeling was similar for Huntley after its two-set win over Fremd, though it was one more of relief. Huntley had come close to state in recent years, but the Raiders were unable to get past the supersectional round with losses in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Huntley enters Friday with nine straight wins, its last loss to Benet 25-15, 25-20 at Glenbard East’s Autumnfest.

“I think I said, ‘Finally!’ a hundred times after we won,” said Raiders coach Karen Naymola, in her 13th season at the school. “There are 22 girls on this team at any given time who can step in, and I would be confident with any one on the court. They’re always looking for ways to get better, they’re always pushing each other. They’re one of the closest teams I’ve ever coached.”

Six-foot-3 senior outside hitter/Kentucky commit Georgia Watson leads Huntley with 402 kills, along with 149 digs, 39 blocks and 51 aces. Senior outside hitter Sienna Robertson is second with 216 kills, senior libero Alex Goritz leads the defense with 283 digs and 50 aces, and junior setter Emily Ernst has 332 assists and 102 digs.

Junior setter Rachael Hein has 249 assists, junior setter Abby Whitehouse has 201 assists, and senior middle blocker Jocelyn Erling has 103 kills. Senior defensive specialist Mari Rodriguez has 132 digs and 55 aces and senior outside hitter Diellza Sejdini has 146 kills.

Two years ago, Huntley was on the verge of state, but couldn’t put away Barrington despite three match points.

“Especially with that [2022] team that had four D-I commits, if they couldn’t do it, we knew it was going to be tough,” said Goritz, a three-year varsity player. “This team wanted it so bad. Being able to come out and do it as a senior, it’s an amazing year for it to happen. It means a lot to us. I feel everyone in the conference kind of doubted us, but none of us had doubt in ourselves.”

Prairie Ridge, meanwhile, enters state with seven straight wins. Monday’s win over St. Francis was the only one during that stretch that went three sets.

The Wolves are led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Maizy Agnello with 455 kills, 181 digs, 65 blocks and 37 aces. Senior setter Grace Jansen has 524 assists, 172 digs, 53 aces and 61 kills, Rogers has a team-high 268 digs and 66 aces, and junior right-side hitter Abigail Smith has 198 kills. Junior setter Addison Smith has 209 assists and 50 kills.

Sophomore defensive specialist/outside hitter Tegan Vrbancic has 243 digs, 91 kills and 79 aces, and senior defensive specialist/setter Julia Reina has 174 digs and 94 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Adeline Grider has 79 kills and 63 blocks, and senior middle blocker Jada Hoyt has 84 kills and 27 blocks.

Prairie Ridge defeated Crystal Lake South 25-15, 25-21 on the Gators’ home court in the sectional final and also prevailed in a tight second set against Carmel to win the regional crown 25-13, 25-23. Jansen felt those matches helped prepare the Wolves and allowed them to keep their composure in the third set Monday against St. Francis.

“We’re used to those tight moments,” Jansen said. “We came through in those pressure moments.”

Both teams believe they are well prepared for whatever state brings.

Naymola has led a team to state before, when she took Hampshire to the 2A state tournament in 2007 and placed second. Hilary Agnello, the 1998 Northwest Herald Volleyball Player of the Year, will be going to state for the first time but won a national championship at Penn State as a freshman in 1999.

The state-bound coaches played on the same club team growing up and have been friends since they were 15. That friendship spilled over to high school where they faced each other, Naymola at C-G and Agnello at Prairie Ridge.

Agnello coaches her daughter Maizy, and Naymola has two daughters on the Raiders – Abby Whitehouse and sophomore outside hitter Izzy Whitehouse.

Earlier this year, Naymola earned her 500th career victory. That came against Agnello’s Wolves. The two have been messaging each other nonstop ahead of state weekend.

“We’ve been best friends since we were 15, and it’s nice having her as a coach in the conference, too,” Naymola said. “We bounce things off each other. We talk about the ups and downs of our season. Our kids played club together. They’ve grown up together. It’s crazy, so if there was another conference school to share it with, it’s them.

“It’s awesome.”