The girls volleyball season reaches its midpoint and ends with a roaring conclusion to the conference. On Thursday, Oct. 21, the varsity girls volleyball team lost to Crystal Lake South, who still stands first in the conference.

Thursday’s game ended the first set with a score of 22-25, going to Crystal Lake, and the second set messaging a 24-26 to the crowd. Huntley did lose both sets, but not without a fight.

Both teams were neck and neck, each with their own comebacks and downfalls creating a thrilling ride that had to be seen. Maggie Duyos, the team captain, would always be there to deliver a perfect set for the team’s amazing hitters like Avary DeBliek and Allyson Panzloff, whose kills rattled the floor as they landed.

Since the team’s first encounter with Crystal Lake back on Oct. 12 ended in the same way, every game, practice, and drill has led to this game. Even varsity coach Karen Naymola has noticed a great amount of improvement in the team’s performance. According to Coach Naymola, the team has a great offense that’s unstoppable, but with slip-ups that lead to failure. The varsity team worked together that game and will still push together towards improvement.

“Everything was building up to this game,” junior Maggie Duyos said. “After we lost against them before, we wanted to bring it back today, especially with today being Senior Night.”

The players never go easy on themselves, especially during practice. The drills have evolved more into challenging exercises that always push the team to do their best.

“One of the drills we do is called the chair drill. Basically, a ball is thrown low to the ground while you’re sitting in a chair. Your job is to not let that ball touch the ground,” senior Alex Hirsch said.

On the bright side, right before the varsity game, everyone celebrated Senior Night. Seniors Avery Robertson, Alex Hirsch, and Lauren Bauer were all given gifts and a heartwarming speech from Coach Naymola.

There were flowers given to the seniors, along with a collection of kind and thoughtful speeches from the entire team. Just as their flowers bloomed, so were their hidden smiles.

While varsity may have lost, the future is looking really bright for them. Their teamwork and strength is beyond powerful, and their new postseason competitions are something no one should miss.