Due to her height. St. Laurence’s Abby Ambrose realizes that her volleyball future after high school isn’t going to be close to the net.
During club season, Ambrose plays in the back row and colleges are looking at her for that role. But for the Vikings, the 5-foot-5 junior outside hitter plays six rotations and swings away.
Among those unsurprised by her success is Ball State-bound teammate Aubrey Martinez.
“She has a lot of power for a little one,” Martinez said. “I love Abby. She’s just so powerful.”
Some of that power was on display Wednesday night. Ambrose put away 10 kills and two aces to help St. Laurence beat Chicago Christian 23-25, 25-13, 17-15 in pool play of the 16-team Evergreen Park Invitational at the Evergreen Park Sports Complex.
More Top Picks Samsung Powerbot R7070
Martinez led the Vikings (7-4) with 13 kills, followed by Stella McDermott, Clancey Bowen and Savana Street with two blocks each. The Vikings meet Montini (8-2) at 9 a.m. Saturday in the gold bracket, while host Evergreen Park (3-3) faces Timothy Christian (9-2) in the other semifinal.
Ambrose and St. Laurence rebounded from Tuesday’s tough 25-13, 25-11 setback to national powerhouse Marist by jumping right into competitive tournament action.
“We definitely changed, and that game gave us more motivation to get back and work on what we needed to work on,” Ambrose said of losing to Marist.
Chicago Christian (8-3) was led by Southern Indiana recruit Quinn Grevengoed with 10 kills. Ella Agema added four kills for the Knights, who went 1-2 in pool play and will play in the bronze.
Ambrose, meanwhile, tallied a team-high four kills in the second game as the Vikings evened the matchup. In a back-and-forth third game, she contributed three kills, including one toward the end that put St. Laurence up 16-15. McDermott sealed the deal with a kill.
“Abby is having a breakout season for us,” St. Laurence coach Ellen Yopchick said. “We always knew that she was going to be a six-rotation player for us, and when she came from JV to varsity as a sophomore, it was a lot. She played three rotations for us.
“But she came in this year really confident. She worked really hard in the offseason. She hasn’t looked back. She stays aggressive and brings a good fire to the group.”
The Vikings already had one dangerous player who could put down kills from the back row in Martinez. Now, there is another as four of Ambrose’s kills against the Knights were from there.
“The more options that we have, the better we can be,” Yopchick said. “That allows us to diversify our offense. It helps our setter (freshman Julia O’Keefe) to be able to spread it around.”
Without a doubt, Ambrose has been enjoying her time as a hitter, even though that will come to an end in college.
“I started playing volleyball when I was maybe 4 or 5 and I started out as an outside hitter,” she said. “I went back row for club and now I’m hitting on the high school team.
“I definitely like hitting. It gives me a lot of confidence. I’m kind of a short hitter, but I have a lot of confidence.”
More Top Picks Best Universal Travel Adapters
Ambrose confirmed that it took a while to get good at the sport. She pointed out that she took “a lot of extra reps” to get to where she is today.
But now that she’s tasting success, she’s also having a ton of fun.
“I just love how you get the opportunity to meet a lot of people,” Ambrose said. “I’ve gotten to learn to play with so many more people, and volleyball plays a big role in my personality.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.