For Lake Central’s Lilly and Brooklyn Barth, being identical twins doesn’t mean being the same.
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They have different interests outside of volleyball, and they value time apart.
But Lake Central coach Naveed Nizam can hardly describe the phenomenon when the Barth sisters are on the court together.
“It’s like a sister thing,” Nizam said. “It’s really weird. They almost know what the other is going to do and how they’ll react.
“It’s like a psychic ability they have as sisters, and it honestly amplifies each other’s individual strengths because they have so much trust in one another and can anticipate what the other will do at any given point in a game.”
That trust between the senior captains, who are the younger sisters of 2025 Andrean graduate and Notre Dame freshman baseball player Mason Barth, eliminates in-game conflict, according to Nizam.
“They both know their roles and how their synergy affects the rest of the team,” Nizam said. “Again, I don’t know if it’s a telepathic thing because I’m not a twin so I wouldn’t understand, but it feels like a ‘when the twins’ powers connect’ kind of deal.”
That connection has been a driving force behind Lake Central’s success this season. Following a Duneland Athletic Conference win against Portage on Tuesday, libero Brooklyn Barth leads the Indians (15-9, 7-4) with 250 digs and also has 24 aces, and setter Lilly Barth has 267 assists.
Brooklyn Barth is known for her defensive prowess but has become a more well-rounded player. In particular, she has sharpened her serve.
“I like to focus on the little things,” she said. “Paying close attention to the basics, like my form, and getting as many reps as possible are things I can control.
“I feel like my approach to serving correlates pretty strongly to my approach to playing defense. Just like how on defense, I always have to be aggressive to keep the ball off the floor, it’s the same mindset with getting the ball up on my serve.”
Lilly Barth leads the Indians in sets played this season. As Nizam puts it, “she’s always there.” Her consistency makes her a key part of an offense that features senior outside hitter Alexa Iwema, an Indiana softball commit, and junior outside hitter Kailey Skurka.
While she feels responsible for keeping the offense flowing, Lilly Barth said her top priority is being the kind of captain her teammates elected her to be.
“As a person, I don’t think yelling at people is the way to get them to listen to you,” she said. “So as a captain, I try to take more of an encouraging approach and show my teammates that I can be someone they lean on when they’re struggling. I try to let them know as often as I can that they’re OK or that they’ll get the next ball.”
Lilly Barth hopes that approach — along with the presence of her sister and their fellow co-captain, senior setter Isabella Steliga — can provide the leadership needed to help Lake Central reach its goals for the remainder of the season.
“Winning sectionals is the No. 1 goal,” Lilly Barth said.
Brooklyn Barth has confidence the Indians can win a sectional title for the first time since 2022. They’re in a Class 4A sectional with 2024 regional champion Crown Point. The postseason begins Oct. 14.
“I think it’s pretty attainable,” she said. “If we keep working at it and truly set our minds to it, I think we could definitely do it.”
No matter what happens on the court for the rest of the season, Lilly and Brooklyn Barth believe the time they’ve shared in the sport since they were 9 has given them something far more meaningful than trophies or individual accolades.
“It’s made us stronger,” Lilly Barth said. “We were obviously going to have moments where we got frustrated with each other, but that just made us grow stronger because it put us through adversity that ultimately brought us closer together.”
Brooklyn Barth echoed her sister’s sentiment.
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“Obviously we were going to fight,” she said. “But that was going to happen whether we were on or off the court. Overall, I think sharing the court together has allowed us to grow stronger. Our relationship over the years — because of volleyball and because we’ve learned to trust each other in every moment — has grown.
“This journey has prepared us for any hard times we’ll have to face together moving forward.”
Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.