A funny thing happened when Brother Rice’s Quinn Nolan wrapped up the basketball season.
On a team filled with club players, Nolan slowly got back into the swing of things in volleyball.
By the end of this spring, the basketball guy became a volleyball guy. And he’s now considering playing what has been his secondary sport in college.
“I wasn’t even planning on playing past my sophomore year,” Nolan said. “One of my coaches that moved away convinced me to keep playing. It’s been awesome.”
Nolan was awesome again Tuesday for the Crusaders, coming up with seven kills and an ace in a 25-21, 26-24 loss to Oak Park-River Forest in the Argo Sectional championship match in Summit.
Ben Adamski, Colin Nye and Isaac Soto added five kills apiece for Brother Rice (28-12).
When the Crusaders put the pressure on Oak Park-River Forest (31-5-1) in the second game, Nolan was in the middle of it. He had three kills in a 5-1 run for a 18-15 lead that forced a timeout.
“I was just trying to do whatever I could to help my team win,” Nolan said. “Everyone is really giving it their all, but I feel like I stepped up big in the moment, which was good for our team.
“We were up for a while there. We had a bunch of confidence going into that timeout 18-15. We were all fired up and ready to go. It just slipped away at the end.”
It’s the third time the two teams have faced each other, so Oak Park-River Forest coach Justin Cousin knew that Brother Rice had a deep, diversified attack.
“In order to prepare for them, we just make sure where we know where the big three guys are at all times and what’s coming from them so we can stay in front of it,” Cousin said. “Our skills are similar, so it was whoever works the hardest and whoever has the most experience will win.”
That offense is what got the Crusaders to this point.
“That’s the firepower we have,” Brother Rice coach Brandon McGinnis said. “We have different rotations and different guys connecting in certain situations works for us. We know who to give the ball to at the right time.
“Quinn was hot most of the second. Ben was hot. Colin was hot. Wish we had another chance to showcase them.”
McGinnis, meanwhile, has seen Nolan step up all season.
“He’s probably a hidden gem,” McGinnis said. “Quinn is always the guy to balance it out for us. It took him a few weeks. After the first month of the season, he started settling in and scoring consistently.
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“He’s our most athletic guy on the pin too, so he’s playing the best outside guys in the state. He’s done a great job out there.”
Nolan admitted that it takes time to switch from basketball to volleyball mode.
The fact he’s playing with some of his best friends helped make the transition smoother.
“After a couple games, it finally clicked,” Nolan said. “Having all my friends around definitely helped. Our team are guys that I hang out with every day. Being with them and only talking volleyball really helps a lot. It’s been fun.”
If things proceed the way he expects them to, volleyball talk will dominate his conversations year-round for the first time.
“It’s been a big change,” Nolan said. “I could not have planned it. It’s been everything and more than I could have dreamed of this season.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.