Huntley falls to Lockport in Class 4A third-place match, brings home 1st state trophy since 1997

NORMAL – Huntley senior Georgia Watson went up for one last swing, and Lockport’s Jenna Kolosta sent it back for a block and match point.

The Red Raiders, playing in their first state tournament since 2001, couldn’t create the same magic at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena that led them there.

Top-seeded Huntley lost in straight sets to No. 1 Lockport 25-12, 25-21 in the Class 4A state tournament third-place match, but will bring home its first state trophy since 1997.

“I’m just so proud of us,” said Watson, a Kentucky commit who had six kills and finished her senior season with 418. “We were the team to do it. We were the team to get to state. I’m just so proud to call these girls my teammates. I think fourth at state is a huge accomplishment.

“I’ll always be proud of us.”

Watson wiped away tears on her black Raiders jersey at the conclusion of the match, ending a standout high school career. She was on the previous two Raiders’ teams to reach a supersectional but not get through. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-3 big swinger did everything she could to lead her team to state, filling in for injured middle blocker Avary DeBlieck – now at Loyola.

Senior Alex Goritz (10 digs) was a handful of then sophomores on that team.

“When you walk into our school, the very first thing is a giant wall of all the state trips and trophies,” Goritz said. “The last trophy we got for state was from [1997] and it means so much that this is the team that is able to add another one to that collection. To get to walk in the school and see it, everyone will be reminded we’re the team that did it and we’re going to continue to do it.”

Much like in Friday’s semifinal loss to Benet, the Raiders (32-10) had to contend with another big block. Huntley struggled to get its offense going for much of the match.

“I thought we did a really good job of passing, a couple of spurts where we gave up a little more than we wanted to and they got on runs, but our offense was just having a hard time hitting around their block,” said Huntley coach Karen Naymola, in her 13th year at the school. “We wanted to expose some of the weaknesses on their [side of] the court by tipping different spots, but we just didn’t have the opportunity.”

Huntley had only 14 kills in the match, led by Watson’s six. Senior outside hitter Sienna Robertson chipped in four kills, senior Diellza Sejdini had three and sophomore Izzy Whitehouse had one. Watson posted six digs, Emily Ernst had four digs and six assists, and junior Abby Whitehouse added four assists. Sophia Tocmo had the team’s only ace.

Rodriguez, a senior defensive specialist, said the final result didn’t take away from the Raiders’ year, which included a third straight Fox Valley Conference championship, eighth straight regional title and third sectional in four seasons.

“Even though it’s not the way we wanted to end it, I’m so overwhelmed with happiness,” Rodriguez said. “I love these girls so much.”

Whitehouse, Naymola’s oldest daughter, entered in the second set, playing in her first match since suffering a knee injury in warmups before her team’s Oct. 8 match against Prairie Ridge.

Whitehouse could have returned sooner, but Huntley was playing well with Ernst and junior Rachael Hein and didn’t want to disrupt anything.

“It was a tough situation to just get thrown into,” Naymola said of her daughter playing in her first match since the injury. “I thought she did a really good job. She put up a beautiful ball to the outside. I obviously have confidence in Abby. She’s so composed and doesn’t get super nervous in big matches. I think we needed that in the moment because our nerves were getting the best of us.”

Whitehouse, who set up sophomore sister Izzy Whitehouse for a kill, had no expectation of playing outside of an emergency.

Robertson said Friday after their loss to Benet in the semifinals that the Raiders made it as far as they did because everyone accepted their roles.

Abby Whitehouse was another example of that.

“It was tough [being out] because I love playing so much,” she said. “It was hard knowing I was ready to come back, but I knew it wasn’t best for the team. I still had so much fun cheering them on, helping out in practice. It truly does not matter about skill. It’s how close you are as a team.

“If you act like a family, that will take you far.”