Joliet Catholic has its own version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in senior Maggie Tibbott.
On the volleyball court, Tibbott takes on the dual role of being a setter and a right-side hitter. As a setter, she has one distinct personality.
“I have a calm sense to me and I’m ready to give the ball to anyone,” Tibbott said.
And when she’s hitting? That’s a whole other story.
“I have more of an anger,” she said. “And I love putting the ball down. That’s my mentality.”
Tibbott had plenty of those moments Thursday night in a GCAC crossover match. The Palm Beach Athletic recruit led the Angels with six kills and also contributed 10 assists and five digs in a 25-19, 25-23 win over host Providence in New Lenox.
Sophomore setter/right-side hitter Ella Horn added four kills, nine assists, seven digs and three blocks as Joliet Catholic (8-6) continued a four-match winning streak. Ella Godeaux had 12 digs.
For Providence (11-2), Lily Lipke and Kennady Kotowski produced eight kills apiece.
JCA, meanwhile, has beaten Providence nine straight matches and last lost to the Celtics on Sept. 16, 2019. Still, Tibbott was pumped up about Thursday’s win.
“This was pretty big,” she said. “This is a rivalry game for us. We’re a pretty small team, but I feel like we all work together as one team and that’s what makes us better.
“We work with each other and I’m glad we won.”
Providence made seven service errors in the first game and three more en route to a 19-10 deficit in the second game.
Once those serves started to stay inbounds, the Celtics closed the gap and forced a 20-20 tie, but the 5-foot-9 Tibbott delivered two kills in a 5-3 stretch run as the Angels survived.
Whether she’s calm or angry, Joliet Catholic relies on Tibbott’s play.
“Maggie is one of my favorite people to play with,” Horn said. “She does it all — hitting setting, blocking and defense. She’s a huge part of our team this year, and I’m so happy that we have her for one more year this year. She’s really great.
“As a setter, she gives our team the best sets that we could possibly get to hit. I’m super lucky to have here there. Hitting-wise, she gets most of our kills. She’s a huge asset for our offense.”
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Eric Tripp, who is in his first year as Joliet Catholic’s coach, appreciates Tibbott’s all-around play.
“She’s such an athletic player,” Tripp said. “Her setting is crazy impressive. Her defense is incredible, which I appreciate. She’s one of those two-way players that I dream of having.
“She can swing really well and she can set anyone on the court.”
Tibbott is hoping the current winning streak can propel the team to a big finish.
“This year, we came in strong,” she said. “We had a bit of a rough season last year. We had our ups and downs and not a good record. This year, we have so many things to learn from and we’re going to go far this year.”
Tibbott’s next stop is the NCAA Division II program in Florida. The Sailfish feature Horn’s sister, Jessica, a redshirt sophomore setter transfer who started out at Gardner-Webb
After growing up playing basketball, Tibbott decided to try volleyball at age 13 and jumped right in by playing for Sports Performance, a national powerhouse based in Aurora.
That was the end of basketball.
“I loved volleyball right away and I still do,” she said. “I still have a passion for it. I love the people and the intensity of it.
“I love being on the court with my best friends and playing to win and playing to give it my all.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.