Girls volleyball: Huntley breezes past Crystal Lake Central in FVC opener

CRYSTAL LAKE – Huntley senior setter Maggie Duyos looks around the court and considers herself lucky to have a seemingly endless number of trustworthy teammates to go to in any situation.

Duyos, one of four NCAA Division I commits on the Red Raiders, was almost flawless in her execution Tuesday as Huntley made quick work of Crystal Lake Central, 25-12, 25-13, in the Fox Valley Conference opener for both teams.

The three-year varsity starter finished with 19 assists and surprised the Tigers with three kills of her own.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Duyos, who is committed to Austin Peay. “It’s just fun knowing I have an offensive threat everywhere. Back row, front row, anywhere I need, I can get them the ball and they’re going to put it down. I trust these girls with everything.”

Huntley, which many opposing FVC coaches picked as the preseason favorite, is set up for what could be a special season. The Raiders lost only one starter from last year’s team that went 28-12 and made it all the way to the Class 4A supersectional round.

Huntley coach Karen Naymola, now in her 11th year at the school, doesn’t remember having a team with so many weapons.

“The thing with the program this year is that we are 18 deep,” Naymola said. “We have solid kids who we can throw in at anytime and at any position. I thought offensively, we spread it around really well and we did a great job of utilizing all of our offensive threats.”

Naymola said Duyos did a good job of reading the Tigers’ defense.

“She sees the court better than most kids,” Naymola said. “She’s such a leader and has a great court sense. She did a great job of distributing the offense, seeing where [Central’s] block was and giving it to the hitter that had the advantage.”

Sophomore outside hitter Georgia Watson led the Raiders (1-0 overall, 1-0 FVC) with six kills, Morgan Jones (Indiana commit) added five kills and Avary DeBlieck (Miami, Fla.) and Ally Panzloff (Brown University) each had four. DeBlieck also had four blocks.

Huntley also excelled at the service line with six aces, including three from Alex Goritz and two from Panzloff. Luma Acevedo, who broke the team’s single-season record with 681 digs last year, led the Raiders on defense with eight digs.

Jones, a junior outside hitter, is a newcomer to the Raiders after transferring from Crystal Lake South. She said she was welcomed right away by her new teammates.

“It’s different, but I really like it,” Jones said. “I love the girls so much. They’re all amazing. I was so excited to play with them.”

Naymola said Jones brings a calming influence to a team with a lot of loud personalities.

“Morgan is probably the most calming presence on the court,” Naymola said. “You saw her put the ball away a couple of times and she just remained so consistent and so calm. I think that’s a nice factor to have. She’s that calming force we need.”

The Tigers (1-1, 0-1) were led by Mykaela Wallen with three kills, Mia Ginter with six digs and Gabbie Anderson with eight assists. Bree Hubacher and Siena Smiejek added two kills apiece.

Central opened the season Monday with a two-set win over Marian Central but could not keep up with the powerful offense of Huntley.

“Our blocking really struggled, and then our communication struggled,” Tigers coach Amy Johnson said. “It’s no secret, they [Huntley] have so many weapons. They had great ball control and they were firing on all cylinders. That was their first match. I can only imagine how much better they will be.”

Duyos said the Raiders have big goals after almost making it to state a year ago. She knows everyone will be trying to knock them off in the FVC.

“I think everybody in conference is out to beat us this year, and I think we’re out to beat everybody, too,” Duyos said.