Naperville Central junior Georgia Von Lehmden has always been a curious kid.
When she was in second grade, Von Lehmden experimented with something that would have major ramifications on her athletic future. She tried hitting a volleyball left-handed.
“I was born right-handed,” she said. “I still write with my right hand. I throw with my right hand. Volleyball is pretty much the only thing I keep for my left hand.”
It was a fortuitous choice for Von Lehmden, although she had no way of knowing that at the time.
“Being a second grader, you don’t really know that that’s better for your position in the future,” she said. “It’s just kind of wanting to try something new or different.
“My parents told me that when I was younger, I used to draw with both hands, so maybe that came from that. But I had no idea that this was going to help benefit me into the person I am now.”
The 6-foot-1 Von Lehmden has become a fearsome right-side hitter, and she’s getting better every day. The San Jose State commit had a huge match on Wednesday, recording 10 kills to lead the visiting Redhawks to a 25-22, 25-23 DuPage Valley Conference victory against Naperville North.
The win gave Naperville Central (14-12, 4-4) a regular-season series sweep of Naperville North (16-12, 5-3).
Von Lehmden gave the Redhawks an early 4-1 lead with three consecutive kills followed by a block. She ended the match with a thunderous kill off an assist from junior setter Sarah Butler.
“It’s so great getting to see my friend have so much success in a match,” Butler said. “I’m super proud of her. She adds so much energy to our team. You can always look to her for energy and support, and whatever ball I give her, she ends up putting it away.”
Von Lehmden deflected most of the praise to teammates like Butler, who had 23 assists, including the 1,000th of her career.
“My success came from my teammates,” Von Lehmden said. “It wasn’t just me making those big plays. It was all of us. We all had some great games.”
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Junior outside hitter Makenna Devick added seven kills, and Dartmouth-bound senior middle Sophia Zanca had three kills and two aces for the Redhawks, who quickly quieted Naperville North’s cheering section.
“We knew it was going to be loud,” Von Lehmden said. “We knew it was going to be crazy and the fans were going to be involved. We had to play our best and pull out a win, and that’s what we did.”
The Redhawks did it by overcoming a tremendous performance by Huskies senior right-side Liz Rossi, who had 14 kills, and a 9-3 deficit in the second set.
Von Lehmden began the rally with a kill and delivered three more down the stretch. Does she thrive in such moments?
“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” she said. “Noise builds up good anxiety. Does that make sense? Like, the right kind of energy to get you going.”
Von Lehmden gets the Redhawks going with her positive attitude as well as her hitting prowess.
“She is very positive, and she’s like that all the time,” Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson said. “I’ve never seen it any other way. She’s a super hard worker too.
“It’s kind of all coming together for her, and it’s awesome to see. Every game we play, she’s a little better.”
Isaacson is a left-hander who played volleyball right-handed as an outside hitter at Western Michigan.
“(Playing lefty) is kind of an acquired skill, but something that I love to do,” Von Lehmden said. “Lefties have great abilities on the right side, but it’s how you use it in the game to ultimately get the win.”
Von Lehmden used it to get kills down the line as well as crosscourt tips, finding gaps in Naperville North’s defense. But can she still hit right-handed?
“I do like to tip with my right hand,” she said. “I get good hand contact with my right hand, but I don’t intentionally (swing). But you never know. Sometime I might pull it out. That’s my story.”
The story of Von Lehmden’s high school career is still being written, but she likes the narrative the Redhawks are scripting with their sweep of the Huskies.
“This sets a standard for ourselves, that we know what we can do,” Von Lehmden said. “We’re just going to come back next year even stronger.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.