University of Missouri outside hitter Maizy Agnello was raised with volleyball.
The Crystal Lake native remembers her mom, Hilary, playing along Lake Michigan after her career at Penn State, and that passion rubbed off on her.
“My mom would sometimes play here at the beach,” the freshman and Prairie Ridge alumna said. “She would just play in the lower leagues and she would play with her friend from college. So, I’ve always been coming to beach games, volleyball games, Cubs games, all of that.”
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That’s why she had circled Labor Day weekend on her calendar for some time.
Agnello and the Tigers will play No. 1 Nebraska at Wrigley Field on Sunday as part of a doubleheader at the historic ballpark during the Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge Week. But before that big match, Agnello and her teammates were at picturesque Oak Street Beach for the AVP League Championship, cheering on Mizzou alumna Kylie DeBerg and her teammate, Betsi Flint of the Dallas Dream.
The Tigers sat in the temporary bleachers behind the court, all donning pinstriped “Mizzou” baseball jerseys with their names and numbers on the back, cheering points and dancing to the continuous music that played throughout the day.
“We’re all there together,” Agnello said. “We all get to share this experience together, and we’re never going to forget it. This is an opportunity of a lifetime.”
DeBerg and Flint fell in three sets in a quarterfinal to the Brooklyn Blaze duo of Lexy Denaburg and Julia Donlin in the first match of the day.
“Kylie is so cool,” Agnello said after meeting her Saturday morning. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, she’s doing so good.’”
More importantly for Agnello, the AVP championship gave her a chance to look ahead and dream of a career beyond college.
Wrigley Field adding another 1st: College volleyball is coming to the Friendly Confines this weekend
“Just being here at the beach is so cool, it shows you that you can keep playing,” Agnello said. “I think the opportunities to keep playing after college are getting bigger and bigger, and it’s so cool to see.”
For Brandie Wilkerson, a silver medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympics with Canada, this weekend showcases the growth of volleyball. Wilkerson and her Palm Beach Passion teammate, Melissa Humana-Paredes, beat the Blaze in a semifinal later in the day, advancing to Sunday’s final. The Blaze beat the Passion in last year’s championship at Oak Street Beach.
“I love it. I think volleyball has a special place, especially in women’s sports,” Wilkerson said. “College volleyball we’ve always known is killing it, but now we’re filling up massive stadiums. It feels right. I think everything is aligning to what the potential of what the sport is.”
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Playing in Chicago represents the best stop in the AVP tour for two-time Olympian Maizy Agnello Kylie DeBerg and her teammate, Kelly Cheng, who advanced to Sunday’s semifinal with her Miami Mayhem partner, Megan Kraft. They beat Megan Rice and Geena Urango of the San Diego Smash in straight sets.
“It’s special because the crowd that comes out knows volleyball,” Cheng said. “I think there’s lots of places that we’ll go to that enjoy the sport, enjoy the atmosphere, but maybe don’t understand all the nuanced things. I feel like Chicago, the people know, you know?
“I feel that from that stands like an incredible play, and us doing things that are very hard to do, people see that. So that’s special as an athlete.”
The day wrapped up with a thrilling match with the New York Nitro duo of James Shaw and Chaim Schalk upsetting the Miami Mayhem’s Andy Benesh and Taylor Crabb in straight sets.
The Nitro beat the Austin Aces in three sets earlier in the day to advance to the first semifinal. They’ll play the winner of Sunday’s semifinal between the Palm Beach Passion (Taylor Crabb and Phil Dalhausser) and San Diego Smash (Chase Budinger and Miles Evans).
It was a bit of a homecoming for Shaw since his wife, Molly, is from Naperville. Molly Shaw also plays for the Nitro, but they did not reach the six-team quarterfinal round.
“I always love coming to Chicago,” James Shaw said. “It’s such a cool place to play. Everybody’s so passionate about the sport, and we love being here and I wish I could play here more.”
It put a cap on the first day of a weekend filled with volleyball in Chicago.
“I’ll get to tell my kids this like in 30 years that I would get to play on Wrigley Field, where I grew up, where I went with my dad to Cubs games,” Agnello said. “I just get to experience this and go and make this sport bigger.”
Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
AVP League Championship
At Oak Street Beach
Sunday’s schedule
10 a.m.: Women’s semifinal — Austin Aces (Taryn Brasher/Kristen Cruz) vs. Miami Mayhem (Kelly Cheng/Megan Kraft)
11 a.m.: Men’s semifinal — Palm Beach Passion (Trevor Crabb/Phil Dalhausser) vs. San Diego Smash (Chase Budinger/Miles Evans)
1 p.m.: Women’s championship — Palm Beach Passion (Melissa Humana-Paredes/Brandie Wilkerson) vs. TBD
2 p.m.: Men’s championship — New York Nitro (Chaim Schalk/James Shaw) vs. TBD