Huntley falls to state power Benet in Class 4A state tournament semifinal

NORMAL – Huntley knew the assignment would be difficult.

The Red Raiders, who had not dropped a match since a loss to Benet at Glenbard East’s Autumnfest Tournament, carried a nine-match winning streak into Friday’s Class 4A state semifinal against those same Redwings, a team making its third consecutive state appearance and 10th since 2008.

Top-seeded Huntley fought back in the second set but was unable to close the gap any further in a 25-15, 25-19 loss to No. 1 Benet at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena.

The Raiders (32-9), making their first state appearance since 2001 and first semifinal appearance since 1997, will play in the third-place match against Lockport at 7:25 p.m. Saturday.

“I think our nerves got us there in the first game,” Huntley coach Karen Naymola said. “I think that’s the difference of Benet has been downstate year after year. They have that experience under their belt. This is the team that got us there, and hopefully we keep learning from it.

“Tomorrow’s a new day, and we’re hopefully not going to settle for anything less than third.”

Huntley had come close to state in recent seasons, unable to get past the supersectional in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Senior outside hitter and Kentucky commit Georgia Watson, who recorded a match-high 10 kills, was a part of the 2021 and 2022 teams that just missed state.

Benet (40-1), led by Wisconsin commit Lynney Tarnow (6-foot-5) and Gabby Stasys (6-1), finished the match with 14 blocks. The Raiders felt that was the determining factor.

“That was definitely the biggest block we saw all season, probably that we’ll ever see in high school,” said Watson, who is 6-3. “They train for that ... and our offense didn’t show up today like they normally do. That’s kind of what happens when you’re here playing good teams. We tried to be prepared, but obviously their blocking was really strong today.”

Huntley trailed 20-12 in the second set but made a valiant run at the Redwings, rattling off five of the match’s next six points to cut the deficit to 21-17.

Benet, however, never let the Raiders get any closer.

Senior outside hitter Sienna Robertson added four kills for Huntley, sophomore outside hitter Izzy Whitehouse had three kills and junior setter Emily Ernst recorded 10 assists and three digs. Senior libero Alex Goritz had eight digs to lead the defense and senior Jocelyn Erling had two blocks. Junior setter Rachael Hein had eight assists.

Goritz felt the Raiders, who won their third consecutive Fox Valley Conference championship, were overlooked a bit entering the year. Previous Huntley teams might have had more talent on the court but she felt this team was way more close.

“I think a lot of the time in past years we had all the talent and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, Huntley’s going to go to state, they have everything they need.’ ” Goritz said. “But this team is so different. We’re such a big family. I can confidently say everyone of these girls, I’m so beyond close to. To go to state with my family, it’s just such a big honor.”

Robertson said the Raiders have gotten this far because of unselfish play.

“I can look back to middle school [where I] watched one of the first teams I admired and girls I still look up to in college,” Robertson said. “To know that we’re now competing at state is a huge accomplishment. Everyone is able to accept the role that they have and take on what’s best for the team.”

Whitehouse, who is Naymola’s daughter, watched many of her mom’s previous teams go far in the playoffs, so getting to play at state, with her mom as coach, is a big deal. Izzy’s older sister, junior setter Abby Whitehouse, also played a significant role during the team’s run to state.

“It’s definitely a dream,” Izzy Whitehouse said. “Making it here with everyone, everyone is one big family.”

Ernst said she expects the Raiders to come back strong for their final match of the season Saturday.

“I feel like each game, especially in the postseason, we’ve worked so hard to play our game and just compete to our highest level,” Ernst said.