Volleyball: Huntley’s Morgan Jones brings big swings, calming influence to Fox Valley Conference champions

Huntley senior outside hitter Morgan Jones is never too high or too low.

“I’ve always been a calm player,” said Jones, who will play next year at NCAA Division I Missouri. “I’ve grown into my confidence. I’m not super vocal. I try and lead by example.”

Jones, who was a Northwest Herald All-Area second-team choice last season, helped lead the Red Raiders to their second consecutive Fox Valley Conference title and a 34-1 record in FVC play since the start of last year.

The Raiders continued their recent postseason dominance on Thursday, sweeping Dundee-Crown 25-12, 25-13 for the program’s seventh straight regional championship.

Top-seeded Huntley (31-6) will try and earn its fourth straight sectional championship this week, beginning with a Class 4A Huntley Sectional semifinal match against No. 2 Gurnee Warren (25-10) at 7 p.m. Monday.

Jones has been a consistent source of big swings and points for the Raiders since she transferred from Crystal Lake South as a junior. She leads Huntley with 260 kills, along with 50 aces, 120 digs and a .316 hitting percentage.

“She puts balls straight down and she gets excited for her teammates, but there’s not a huge roller coaster of emotions with her,” Huntley coach Karen Naymola said. “I think she’s just so quiet and humble sometimes, you almost have to brag for her so the other kids understand how good she is because she works so hard for it.

“She’s such a composed athlete, and that’s one of the things that I really like about having her on the court for us. She keeps everybody level.”

Naymola felt lucky to add Jones to her lineup last year. She quickly became one of the team’s most trusted players, joining a roster already loaded with big hitters.

“When we were going against her, she was always someone you had to shut down,” Naymola said. “She’s not an easy player to stop. She’s taken on a bigger offensive role for us this year. She’s someone we can get the ball to in the front row, back row or if we need a side out. We’re always trying to find a way to get her the ball.

“Even last year being a little younger, the seniors still looked up to her as a leader.”

Naymola said Jones has worked hard to improve her game in all different phases.

“I haven’t had too many athletes do everything that you ask all of the time and then do things on their own,” Naymola said. “Theres’ been a number of times this year where she’s gone from practice to the gym to her own training.

“I think, defensively, she’s improved a ton. Last year, there was a bit of nervousness playing with a new team and knowing people were watching you come over from another school.”

Senior middle blocker Avery Gonzalez has known Jones since kindergarten. Gonzalez said Jones has always been a trustworthy teammate and friend.

She’s always calm and has the same attitude to her. I can always go to her. If we’re in a tight situation, there’s no worry.”

—  Avery Gonzalez, Huntley senior middle blocker

“She’s always calm and has the same attitude to her,” Gonzalez said. “I can always go to her. If we’re in a tight situation, there’s no worry. We know we can always rely on her and depend on her to put the ball away and get the kill for us.”

Freshman Izzy Whitehouse, Naymola’s daughter, said Jones helped ease the transition of joining the varsity team.

“Watching her last year, I could always tell that she was a natural leader on the court,” Whitehouse said. “And then this year she’s been so welcoming. She’s always positive. She’s always calm, and I love that about her.”

Huntley has fallen a win short of the state tournament in each of the the past three seasons (excluding the COVID-19-shortened season).

Jones is hopeful this is the year it all comes together for the Raiders.

“I say our goal is to make it to state, and I feel like we truly can if we just play for each other,” Jones said. “I feel like we totally can, we have a ton of talent on this team, and I’m excited to see how far we can go.”