“H-U-N-T-L-E-Y” was being chanted this Tuesday by every fan as Arianna Torres served the game point. The score was 26-25 Huntley, the gym was going insane, and every fan is on their feet screaming for the team. The serve goes up and Torres make it over, the rally continues, and junior Aleah Amelio goes up for the block.  The ball stops dead in the palm of her hand. McHenry fails to save the precious ball.

Huntley has claimed the regional championship. The game was exhilarating, going into three sets and keeping the score within five points at all times. Huntley ended up winning after three sets. The first set was won by Huntley with a score of 25-21. McHenry prevailed in the second set, 27-25.  Ultimately, Huntley took the title with a score of 27-25.

The girls had been working for this title the entire season. Going into the game, they had defeated McHenry twice already, and they were ready to do it again.

Having a history with McHenry, Huntley knew that they needed to play their game in order to take the championship title.

“The most important thing, and we’ve been saying this all along, [is] every game just coming out ready to play,” varsity coach Karen Naymola said. “Nobody wants their season to be over, McHenry played a great game, [and] we were able to keep playing even when the game was on the line.”

The Huntley coaches stress to their players that in order to win, they need to leave everything on the court and play with all of the skills that they have practiced.

Each Huntley player knew that they needed the keep unity on the court and remain as a team even when the score was not in their favor.

“We knew we needed to talk, play as a team, and work together,” defensive specialist, freshman, Josie Schmitendorf said. “Communication is always a huge factor in winning.”

Huntley plays vs. DeKalb at home on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the IHSA Sectional Semi-Final.