Each morning, Lincoln-Way Central’s Megan Hoy is greeted at school by Loren Hess.
Hoy pointed out that Hess, the dean of students, always has a good word to say each day.
“We talk every morning and it’s his last year because he’s retiring,” Hoy said. “He greets me at the front door I use every morning. We have a lot of conversations and we talk about volleyball.”
Hoy picked Hess to honor at the team’s faculty appreciation pregame ceremony Monday night.
The junior outside hitter gave them plenty to talk about for this week, putting on a show with seven kills to help the host Knights to a 25-14, 25-5 nonconference win over Beecher in New Lenox.
Ella Thompson followed with five kills for Lincoln-Way Central (15-8), while Mya Donnelly and Stella Davis tallied four apiece. Isabella Bendoraitis notched 10 assists. Hoy and Donnelly each had four digs.
Alessandra DiSalvo also delivered five aces for an eight-point run in the second game.
“I was really happy because I was really nervous,” DiSalvo said. “It felt amazing. I usually don’t serve that well. I just went back there and focused on serving and nothing else.”
Natalie Soch and Anahi Lagunas led Beecher (5-11) with two kills apiece.
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The Knights, meanwhile, are happy about the performance of the new-and-improved Hoy, who played sparingly last season.
“She has great confidence and has become a leader out there for us,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Amy Bernhard said of Hoy. “Our game is completely different out there without her.”
“Her arm speed has been great,” assistant coach Alexander Bryk said.
That’s an area Hoy worked on during the offseason.
“I did a lot of training and focusing on the fundamentals,” Hoy said. “I had to figure out what I needed to do to be the best me I could be.
“I worked with club coaches and did a lot of repetition. Repetition is the key.”
Hoy opened her athletic career doing gymnastics and dance. But the pandemic hit and that changed the 5-foot-10 Hoy’s career path.
“I was tall and I said, ‘Oh, I can play volleyball,’” Hoy said. “And here we are.”
The Knights are happy with her career switch.
“She brings us so much energy,” DiSalvo said of Hoy. “Honestly, she lifts everyone up on the team every time she goes on the floor.”
“She’s the spark plug of the team,” Bernhard said of Hoy. “The energy. The positivity. The encouragement. I can go on and on.”
While the Knights have had mixed results, they have still put together a winning season, which even caught the coaching staff a little off guard.
“They have really surprised us this year,” Bernhard said. “We have a very young team, and coming into this season, we figured it would take a while to figure our team out.
“They proved early on in the season what they are capable of.”
Hoy enjoys the balanced offensive attack the Knights have shown as several players are capable of dominating.
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“We have a very strong offense and two great setters,” Hoy said. “That has helped us be as strong as we are.”
Receiving interest from colleges, Hoy is still taking a wait-and-see approach. She wants to decide on her major before getting too deep into the recruiting process.
She’s hoping it can all work out because she has loved the sport for the last six years.
“I love my teammate and I love every bond,” she said. “It’s great to be on the court with my friends. I want to show up and do my part. And I’m a really big fan of the hitting part.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.