Libero Dion led Huntley back to prominence

It was mid-September 2009, and it seemed nothing could stop the Cary-Grove girls volleyball team.

The Trojans had already won invitational tournaments at Prairie Ridge and Jacobs. They would go on to win the Class 4A state title two months later.

Yet, things weren’t going as planned in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division opener at Huntley. Cary-Grove entered that match with 11 wins in 12 tries, but something — or rather someone — had them in a 6-1 hole to start Game 1.

The usually reliable cross-court smashes of players like Kelly Lamberti and Kayla Klinger were not finding the floor like they normally did. C-G coach Patty Langanis called timeout.

“It took us a couple of points to really realize why nothing was falling,” Langanis recalled this week. “Amy Dion single-handedly was taking us out of the match.

“Single-handedly.”

Langanis told her players during the timeout “no balls can go to Amy Dion,” who was then competing in her second season as Huntley’s varsity libero.

The Trojans eliminated Zones 5 and 6 from their game plan and targeted only Zones 1 and 2, away from Huntley’s quick-twitch defender. It was the volleyball equivalent of an intentional walk, the ultimate sign of respect.

It was the first time Langanis had ever adjusted an entire game plan due to an opposing libero, she said, but the strategy worked. Cary-Grove recovered and pulled out a victory once the Trojans stopped dialing Dion’s area code.

“The only technical change we made was that no balls could go near Amy Dion,” Langanis said. “Now, every time we play Huntley she’s obviously the first thing we talk about.

“She’s so crafty. Every ball is up and it starts to take it out of your team after a while. The big hitters are slamming balls down and she’s right there. Before you know it everyone is getting frustrated. It forces the other team to hit lines, which not a lot of girls are comfortable doing.”

Dion, a 5-foot-6 defensive whiz who committed to Maryland as a junior, turned in yet another exceptional season in the Huntley back row this fall. The senior played in every game of every varsity match for the fourth consecutive season.

Entering Thursday’s regional title tilt against Barrington, Dion had a career-high 484 digs to go with 35 aces in 247 attempts. She made only 48 errors in 427 serve receptions even though some teams avoided serving to her entirely. She also contributed 60 assists and 29 kills.

For her outstanding performance and for the intangible leadership qualities the veteran brings to her 29-win team, Huntley’s Amy Dion has been named the honorary captain of the 2011 Daily Herald Fox Valley all-area girls volleyball team.

Dion’s four-year run at Huntley has been synonymous with the program’s re-emergence as a local power and state contender. The program struggled in the four years prior to Dion’s arrival. Between 2004 and 2007, Huntley finished with a combined record of 59-83, a winning percentage of just .415.

The Red Raiders have gone 114-37 in the four years since Dion joined the varsity, winning at a .755 clip. In 2008 and 2009, they advanced to sectional title matches, along the way winning the school’s first regional titles since former coach Larry Kahl’s Redskins won the last of the program’s 13 straight regional crowns in 2002.

Dion has always possessed a maturity beyond her years, a quality that helped her gain acceptance as a freshman on the varsity from older players like Amy Fanella and Allyson Stellmach. Such maturity allowed her to not only play with older players but to lead them as a 15 year old.

What kind of leader is Amy Dion four years later? After Huntley suffered arguably its most bitter loss of the season three weeks ago at Jacobs, Dion didn’t fail to give the Golden Eagles their just due afterward despite her competitive on-court nature.

“She made a point of shaking my hand and looking me in the eye after that match and saying ‘good game,’ which was not easy to do,” Jacobs coach Lisa Dwyer said. “You have to respect a young person with that kind of maturity and perspective.”

If not for a simple line drawn on a map, Dion might have played for Dwyer instead of against her. The 18-year old lives in Algonquin on the border between school districts 158 (Huntley) and 300 (Jacobs, Dundee-Crown, Hampshire).

“If I lived across the street, I’d go to Jacobs,” Dion said. “I mean, literally. Right across the street.”

Dion’s allegiance to the Red Raiders has never wavered, however. The girl is Huntley through and through, enrolled in the Huntley school district since preschool.

Dion started playing club volleyball at Sky High almost as early. She was taking part in Sky-High’s Volleykids program in kindergarten when club director Sherry Harris asked if she wanted to play club volleyball.

“Crazy me said yes to her and I’ve been there ever since,” Dion said, widening her familiar smile. “I couldn’t imagine my life without it.”

Volleyball is in Dion’s blood. Her mother, Sandy Ulesich Dion, played college volleyball at Illinois-Chicago. Aunt Wendy Ulesich Chauncey played collegiately for Northern Illinois. “That’s where it came from,” Amy said.

All her years of club volleyball paid off the last two summers as Dion and Huntley teammate Sam Boesch were part of the Sky-High Black team that won back-to-back AAU national championships along with Melanie Jereb and Ashley Rosch from rival Cary-Grove, among others.

“Winning national championship games means you can get through when there’s pressure,” Dion said of the experience. “It helped me help my teammates get through tough games like Cary-Grove this year. Calmness in pressure situations helps more.”

Dion and her teammates defeated Cary-Grove in their emotional first meeting, ending the Trojans’ 61-match regular-season winning streak. However, the Red Raiders later dropped matches to Prairie Ridge and Jacobs and lost the rematch against Cary-Grove, which denied Huntley a share of the division crown.

“It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” Dion said.

It will be difficult when the season concludes for the Huntley program to say goodbye to its affable yet ultracompetitive on-court leader of four years.

“Just watching her as a freshman I knew she was going to be a great player,” Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski said, “but just to see her grow and mature has been one of those special things as a coach.”

Her teammates will miss her most.

“She is a great player and great person,” Huntley setter Eli Manning said. “I love her off and on the court. She is such a great friend. Even if she’s not having her best game, she’ll be up and be ready to play and will always keep you up. She’s always a positive player on the court.”

“She keeps us laughing,” said Boesch, who will play next year at Wake Forest. “She’s just an all-around good person. There’s nothing I dislike about her. She’s one of my best friends on and off the court.”

Heading into Thursday’s regional title match against Barrington, Dion already considered Huntley’s 29-win campaign and second-place Valley Division finish a successful season.

“It’s been a season to remember for sure,” Dion said. “I couldn’t ask for a better senior year.”