In June, Providence’s Abbey Knight won a bronze medal at the AAU nationals. In July, the senior outside hitter then won a gold medal at an international competition in Brazil.
Oh, but there’s one more medal on her wish list that she wants to earn before the 2025 season closes — at the Class 3A state finals in November at CEFCU Arena in Normal.
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To that end, here’s what Knight learned during her gold medal-winning trip this summer at the COPA International U18 Tournament in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. A little fire goes a long way.
“They play different,” Knight said of Brazilian players. “We play a super-technical game, breaking down the aspects of it. The Brazilian players have their own way of playing.
“They play their hearts out and they play with the most passion I’ve ever seen. They have a whole different type of fire, and seeing them play made me want to play harder.”
The 6-foot-1 Knight, a Wright State recruit, was playing with her Sports Performance club team in Brazil. One of her teammates was Marist’s Cassidy Cage.
Knight believes that fire and passion, mixed with top-drawer skills, could help get Providence to the state’s Final Four. The last two years, the Celtics lost in the supersectional.
Those setbacks, including last year’s 25-23, 25-23 heartbreaking loss to Limestone at the Pontiac Supersectional, should give the Celtics some of that Brazilian-like fire this season.
“I think this team wants it more than anybody else,” Knight said. “We have the talent. We have to make our preparation the best it can be and at the highest level.
“This team has a new fire to it.”
Knight, who totaled 440 kills last season, is 141 away from 1,000 for her career. She will team up with senior setter/right-side hitter Demi Carbone, senior outside Cali Tierney and senior setter Delaney Purtill as four-year varsity starters.
The Celtics have earned just one state trophy in program history, a third-place finish in 1988, and the seniors want to leave their mark. Knight’s leadership could be their driving force.
“Abbey is one of the most dedicated players I’ve ever seen,” Carbone said, “She doesn’t take days off. She doesn’t mess around. She is a true-born leader and an amazing human being.”
Providence coach Lee Rucinski remembers the first time he saw Knight.
She was playing middle hitter in grade school for St. Mary Mokena during a tournament at Providence. Rucinski said her talent was “raw” but that she also stood out.
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“If she could, she would spend 365 days in the gym,” he said. “You talk about kids who love the sport and want to work harder than everybody — she’s one of those kids.”
Growing up, however, she wasn’t really one of those kids. Not yet, anyway, She was into dancing at that time, but she eventually figured out her heart wasn’t into it.
When she discovered volleyball late during grade school, however, it brought out a passion in her that she didn’t have in the past.
Back then, Knight could have never imagined what was ahead of her, including last year’s trip to the Dominican Republic and this year’s trip to Brazil.
“I never expected I would go this far in volleyball,” she said.
Her volleyball career after Providence also is in place. After a somewhat frustrating recruiting journey, Wright State became the right spot for Knight, who wants to major in nursing.
“I went all over the East Coast and nothing felt like home,” she said. “When I went to Wright State, it was like, ‘Let’s get this done and over with.’ But when I stepped on campus, I felt right at home.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.