It’s not an accomplishment that will be a banner on a wall or earn a line in the program’s record books, but it’s still pretty significant for Lockport senior Emma Consigny.
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Since Nick Mraz took over as the head coach for the Porters in 2015, he’s never had a starting libero play for him for more than a year until Consigny came onto the scene as a junior.
Now, she’s the first to start for him in that position for two years.
“I’m proud of that,” Consigny said. “This has been a pretty good program for I don’t know how many years. But honestly, it’s an honor to play it two years.”
Interestingly, Consigny came into the program as an outside hitter but that changed.
“I work hard in every practice and I work hard in every game,” she said. “I finally got the position and I keep working hard.”
That hard work, with help from Consigny, paid off for Lockpor over the weekend. The Porters won five matches in taking the Lincoln-Way Central Autumn Knights Invitational title in New Lenox.
The 5-foot-8 Consigny came through with seven digs and three assists Saturday in a 25-22, 26-24 win over SouthWest Suburban Conference rival Lincoln-Way East in the championship match.
Hutsyn Timosciek tallied 11 kills in the finals for Lockport (27-4), while Virginia recruit Kyla Mitchell had 10. Both were named to the all-tournament team. Natalie Bochantin added 14 assists.
Illinois recruit Kolby Ross led Lincoln-Way East (24-8) with nine kills and two aces. Claire Connolly and Leila Taylor added five apiece. Mary Radon collected 18 assists. Jayla Thomas had nine digs.
This was a match between the top two seeds at the Class 4A Lockport Sectional, where the Porters earned the top seed. Lockport has taken third in the state in 4A the past two years.
Mraz, meanwhile, is happy that he switched Consigny to the back row last season.
“That’s been a position that’s been a revolving door,” Mraz said of the libero spot. “No one really locked it down. But credit to Emma. She has been pretty steady throughout.
“She’s always a calming influence out there. She lets the girls know she has their backs. And she’ll talk to the coaches about something she sees. She’s very cerebral in that regard.”
Mraz confirmed that Consigny’s hitting game was strong, but he was even more impressed with her defense.
“She was so strong in her receptions and that was going to be our priority,” Mraz said of Consigny. “We had some strong hitters and we needed someone to get them the ball. She separated herself in that regard.
“It really wasn’t that much of a question come junior year. It was her uniform.”
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Timosciek remembers when Consigny played a different role at Homer Junior High.
“She was our star hitter,” Timosciek said. “But she always played good defense. I kind of thought she could still do both. She’s still really good at hitting in practice.”
Consigny pointed out the transformation to full-time libero wasn’t too tough.
“The only hard part was being a left back because I was always a middle back,” she said, “But I always got served to when I was an outside so my serve receive was good.
“I was always better at serve receive than hitting, so when I moved to libero, it was one of my strengths.”
Consigny is still going through the recruiting process and hopes to land at a bigger college. She plans to major in physical therapy. For now, she enjoys the role as a defensive standout.
“I like the feeling of getting a dig up in the air for my team and getting it in system,” she said. “That allows Hutsyn and Kyla to hit the ball as hard as they can.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.