St. Laurence freshman Julia O’Keefe learned the art of setting from a pretty good teacher.
Her father, Ed, was Mount Carmel’s setter in 1992 when boys volleyball became recognized as a sport by the Illinois High School Association. One of his hitters was future NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Ed, who also played and coached on the college level, still coaches on the club circuit. Not surprisingly, Julia started her setting career as early as fourth grade, learning from the best.
“I just followed in his footsteps,” Julia said of her dad. “We always worked together. He’s trained me. We would set in the gym and sometimes in the backyard.”
All of that hard work over the years has paid off. O’Keefe made a successful varsity debut Monday night for the host Vikings in a 25-17, 25-16 nonconference win over Lincoln-Way West in Burbank.
The 5-foot-10 O’Keefe assisted on 15 of the 18 kills for St. Laurence (1-0). She added a kill, a block and an ace. Ball State-bound Aubrey Martinez and Abby Ambrose had six kills apiece.
Emma Novotny led the way with four kills for Lincoln-Way West (0-1), which gave up 17 points on hitting and serving errors.
O’Keefe’s debut, meanwhile, garnered rave reviews among her teammates.
“Absolutely amazing,” said Martinez, who also had four aces. “I love working with her. She’s so good and I’m so proud of her, especially in this first game. You can’t even tell she’s a freshman.”
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Martinez confirmed O’Keefe has shown poise in practice as well as during Monday’s match.
“Her sets are beautiful,” Martinez said. “And her set-downs are literally gorgeous.”
St. Laurence coach Ellen Yopchick knew all about O’Keefe before this season. Julia was a top player for St. Barnabas’ eighth-grade team, which was coached by Ed.
One of the team’s stops last November was in Burbank as St. Barnabas won the Diggin’ For A Cure Tournament at St. Laurence — a tournament started by Martinez’s older sister, Natalie.
So, O’Keefe already knew a little about playing in the Vikings’ gym.
“She’s incredibly calm and collected,” Yopchick said of O’Keefe. “That makes her special. She can take time and see the court. She brings in a high volleyball IQ and is a competitor through and through.
“She’s a great teammate. Everything she does is to help her teammates.”
O’Keefe is the fourth freshman Yopchick has brought up to varsity in her coaching career.
“It’s a big deal to bring up a freshman, and you have to make sure the player is emotionally and physically ready,” Yopchick said. “Julia was ready to do that here for us.”
O’Keefe looked comfortable as a floor general in front of a large, loud home crowd. But she admitted she was a little nervous.
“There were definitely nerves,” she said. “But when you have nerves that means you are excited, so it was great.”
O’Keefe entered this season with some impressive summer credentials. She was named an AAU All-American as her club team finished fifth in the nation in the open division at Indianapolis.
“I was very surprised,” O’Keefe said of being an All-American. “I honestly didn’t think anyone on our team was going to be able to get it because we got fifth. When I was told about it, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, really?’ It was so cool.”
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It also appears she has a bright future ahead of her, and during short time with the Vikings, she has been supported by her older teammates.
“I actually really love it,” O’Keefe said. “All the girls are welcoming and they don’t even make me feel like I’m a freshman. My teammates and coaches push me and they believe in me.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.