As a child, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Tatiana Cummings could count on plenty of basketball knowledge to draw upon from the elite experiences of her extended family.
Her grandfather, Terry, was a DePaul legend who played 683 games in the NBA. Her father, T.J., was a star for H-F who played at UCLA and for multiple pro teams around the world for 12 years.
But when she tried out for volleyball in seventh grade at O.W. Huth in Matteson, Tatiana was on her own. Nobody from her family could help her out.
“I knew nothing about volleyball,” she said. “Nothing at all.”
Five years later, Cummings not only knows volleyball, but she’s taking a sports exercise and health science course on how the human body works to generate force in a sporting context.
“It’s a really tough course and it’s the first time we are offering it,” said Nate Nesbit, who coaches the girls volleyball team and teaches the class. “She’s doing really well in the class, and it absolutely has helped her on the court.”
Cummings, a left-handed junior right-side hitter, has been a quick study. She delivered five kills and added three solo blocks Tuesday night for host H-F in a 25-13, 25-6 nonconference win over Joliet Central in Flossmoor.
Junior outside hitter Cherron Calhoun also had five kills for the Vikings (7-8), including three from the back row. Alle Orr added three aces and Sydney Skinner notched two.
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Laynuh Wollenzien led Joliet Central (3-6) two kills. The Steelmen mustered just five in the match.
The 6-foot-3 Cummings, meanwhile, also had to be a quick study in making a position switch. She was used to playing middle but was moved this season to the right side.
“As a lefty, if we can transition her to that right side, that’s where she belongs,” Nesbit said of Cummings. “She can be a versatile hitter there. And she brings that middle blocking mentality.
“You can see how far across the net she gets. We are really, really grateful that she’s there to lock down that outside hitter. You can’t have a better blocker than Tatiana.”
Calhoun enjoys watching Cummings do her work at the net.
“She makes a lot of big blocks and brings a lot of energy every single game,” Calhoun said of Cummings. “And she’s always positive.”
Cummings has plenty of power but it didn’t come overnight.
“I worked at it, especially during the club season,” Cummings said. “I did a lot of weightlifting. After I got my explosiveness and my height, I was able to touch 10-2.”
The Vikings won handily Tuesday night, but that was something they needed to boost their confidence after going 1-6 in their previous seven matches.
H-F has two freshmen, two sophomores, six juniors and just three seniors on the roster, so some growing pains were expected.
“I feel like we can get through the losses,” Cummings said. “We just need to keep our energy.”
Nesbit was relieved to see the Vikings come out strong after the tough stretch.
“We had a hard week,” Nesbit said. “The emotional stability just wasn’t there, so to come out with energy and intentionality feels good.
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“We are coaching intentionality, and it doesn’t matter if we are facing Olympians or whoever, we need to be playing with the same intensity no matter who is on the other side of the net.”
With Cummings on H-F’s side of the net, that shouldn’t be a problem. Since her days in grammar school, she has grown to learn and love the sport.
“The thing I love most about volleyball is blocking,” she said. “I get a lot of blocks. Getting a solo block or an overpass kill, those are the best.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.