Senior outside hitter Kaylea Armstrong loves a certain aspect about volleyball for Lincoln-Way West. And that should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen her play softball.
Armstrong, a hard-hitting first baseman, always has the attitude of a slugger.
“I like to swing as hard as I can all the time,” she said. “Hitting is my favorite thing, and using different things from softball and bringing that to volleyball is exciting and so much fun.”
Armstrong had a whole lot of fun Wednesday night. She put away eight kills as the Warriors pulled off a 21-25, 25-20, 25-19 victory over visiting Providence in New Lenox.
Identical twins Brooklynn and Bailey Voss, both sophomores, added five kills apiece and junior setter Cailyn Smith marked 12 assists as Lincoln-Way West (9-8) won its fifth straight match.
Junior middle hitter Lily Lipke and junior right-side hitter Kennady Kotowski came through with 12 kills each for Providence (16-4).
Armstrong had three hits and an RBI as the Warriors made history last June with a 6-1 win over Mundelein in the Class 4A softball state championship game. That gives her a special cache.
Just ask senior middle hitter Emma Novotny, her teammate.
“She’s the most competitive person I know,” Novotny said. “She already has one state championship and that’s not enough. She wants more. And the two sports really correlate.
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“She’s one of my favorite players because I know if the ball goes to her, she’ll take care of it.”
Lincoln-Way West coach Jodi Frigo cited the value and intangibles of Armstrong.
“Coming off a state championship, she brings that competitive edge and drive,” Frigo said. “She never lets up, and she’s just so present to be able to manage playing two sports at a high level.
“She gives everything to her teammates.”
Armstrong, who hit .382 with six home runs and a team-high 13 doubles in the spring, learned a crucial lesson playing against favored Marist in the softball state semifinals.
She went 0-for-3 in the Warriors’ 2-1 upset but stayed upbeat and didn’t lose faith. She rebounded with her superb performance in the state championship game.
Providence winning the first game Wednesday didn’t dent her confidence, either.
“We were just trying to fix our errors,” Armstrong said. “We were not making great choices, and our swinging and passing was not very good. We had to tighten everything up.”
The 5-foot-8 Armstrong knows softball is her future, but she’s not exactly an interloper in volleyball. She began the sport relatively late, around age 12, but quickly found her niche.
Her natural ability, drive and focus carried over. She also loved the camaraderie and chemistry of her volleyball teammates, even though she gave up playing club to focus on softball.
She has been on Lincoln-Way West’s varsity since her freshman season.
“I didn’t play very much my freshman year,” Armstrong said. “We had some great seniors my sophomore year and I learned so much from them.”
The best softball players compete year-round. During the fall, Armstrong typically travels to play in weekend tournaments.
“I float between the two sports,” she said. “I have practice tomorrow right after our game. Right now, I just go back and forth between the two and find the right balance.”
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Sports are the connective thread in her family. Her father played NCAA Division III basketball. Her older brother, Cameron, is a sophomore pitcher in college for Quincy’s baseball team.
“My dad instilled a lot of that competitive part of me,” she said. ”He and my brother would always go at it, and I just always wanted to win. Everything is relative, but I just hate losing.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.