Two years ago, Lincoln-Way Central’s Mya Donnelly was a freshman on the varsity level. She confirmed that she learned a lot from the older players on the team.
And now, the 5-foot-11 junior outside hitter is paying it forward.
With freshman Erin Sammon on varsity, joining sophomores Leah Freiberg, Madison Rademacher, Tessa Garcia and Zoey Terrell, Donnelly finds herself doing some of the teaching.
“I had girls who were leaders for me and now I get to lead the underclassmen,” Donnelly said. “It’s a lot of fun doing that. I put myself in their shoes and know how I felt on varsity. I was so scared.”
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Those days are long gone for Donnelly, who is putting fear into her opponents.
She totaled 11 kills, including eight in a second game that turned the match around, in Tuesday’s 14-25, 25-14, 25-20 nonconference win over Class 2A power Chicago Christian in New Lenox.
Ella Thompson chipped in with seven kills for Lincoln-Way Central (1-0), while Terrell added four aces. Garcia had 11 assists and Isabella Bendoraitis notched 10 assists.
Quinn Grevengoed led Chicago Christian (0-1) with 12 kills. Ella Agema followed with nine and Grace Gordon contributed six aces.
After an 11-point loss in the first game, Donnelly started to heat up. She had three kills during a four-point stretch to help Lincoln-Way Central take an 8-5 lead and grab the momentum from Chicago Christian. The host Knights dominated from there.
“Something just clicked with me and I knew I had to go out there with leadership and confidence,” Donnelly said. “(Hitting down) the line is my big thing. That’s what I can do the best.
“I aimed for the line most of the time until they changed their block.”
Bendoraitis also spent some quality time at the service line, serving up six straight points that featured three aces to close out the second game. Thompson led the way in the finale with four kills and Terrell tallied three aces, two kills and a block.
So, what went wrong in the first game?
“In the first set, we weren’t connecting that well as a team,” Donnelly said. “We had a hard time with our serve-receive. But after that, we started playing really, really well and our bench was loud.
“We didn’t know how this season was going to go as we lost a lot of our seniors. I’m happy with how we looked, and this was a good first game for us.”
Donnelly’s eruption in the second game was one of the reasons for the comeback.
“Mya did great the second set and she’s the reason we won the second and the third,” Bendoraitis said. “She probably has the best swing on the team, I would say. She reads the ball well.”
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Lincoln-Way Central coach Amy Bernhard admitted nerves showed with her team in the first game, but the sets from Bendoraitis and Garcia got crisper and that allowed the hitters to dominate.
“Mya got on a run and she can be wonderful for us when her sets are there,” Bernhard said. “I’ve been with her for so long, I almost see her as a senior.
“I see her as a leader out there even though she’s not even a senior yet.”
Donnelly started playing volleyball in second grade after starting out in cheerleading.
“I absolutely hated cheerleading, so my mom signed me up for something new,” she said, “I really love volleyball and I’ve stuck with it.”
On top of that, Donnelly enjoys the team aspect of the sport.
“Being close on and off the court with my teammates helps mentally,” Donnelly said. “It’s fun. You have a team culture. You get to show what you can do.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.