Junior middle hitter Bria Lomax entered Tuesday night’s match for Bartlett with a blistering-hot hitting percentage that topped the .600 mark.
But when it comes to receiving any type of credit for that A-list production, the 6-foot Lomax immediately turns into a surefire passer.
“Honestly, kudos to my team for helping me reach that,” she said. “Not only that, my clubs and everyone in the past that trained me, they’re a big part of me hitting as high as I do. Without that, I wouldn’t be hitting what I am.”
The hits kept coming for the Hawks in an Upstate Eight Conference showdown against Streamwood. Lomax connected on four of her five swings during a 25-13, 25-6 win.
Lomax, who also leads the Hawks with 20 blocks and has served 19 aces, is now hitting a robust .670 with a team-leading 71 kills for Bartlett (9-4, 1-1).
Lomax had two kills to cap a 7-1 run to open Game 1. Senior Maddie Hankins started off Game 2 with three straight aces to keep the momentum rolling.
Yazmine Rojas also served three straight aces later in the game as the Hawks cruised to their first conference win over Streamwood (3-8, 0-2).
It was a nice bounce-back effort from Saturday’s final day at the Hoffman Estates Tournament. The Hawks were beaten by Rockford Guilford, and then had to battle back through the loser’s bracket.
When they did, Rockford Guilford was waiting there and won again.
“It’s a good team,” Bartlett coach Robert Schwantz said. “I’ve got a really good team. We’re strong top to bottom. We just have to pull it all together.”
Expectations were already high when the Hawks won their first-ever conference title last spring, knowing Hankins and Lomax were returning for a third straight season together.
Time is running out for that combination, however, something Lomax is keenly aware of as the calendar flips from August to September.
“I feel like it is because freshman year when we were together it was like, Bria and Maddie have three years together,” Lomax said. “Now, this is our last season.”
Another element was added to the team last spring when freshman outside hitter Jade Lindstrom made the varsity.
Lindstrom, who led the Hawks with six kills Tuesday, is second on the team this season with 67 kills.
“She’s strong,” Schwantz said of Lindstrom. “She’s still a little raw. She makes some errors but that’s to be expected.
“I treat them all like seniors on varsity. You have to take a step back and she makes an error and say to yourself, ‘She’s a 16-year-old girl.'”
Lomax has visions of playing volleyball in college, but that process is still in its early stages.
“It’s so stressful to think about,” Lomax said. “It’s also exciting to look past high school and think I’m going to play ball in college, hopefully.
“I totally want to play ball in college. I don’t know where. I don’t know what division. But I want nothing more than to do that.”
To get there, Lomax and the Hawks hope to build on the success of last spring and truly put Bartlett’s program on the map.
“We’ve showed that we improved,” Lomax said. “Being able to get to the point where people are like, ‘Oh, I know Bartlett would be great.’
“South Elgin already has a good rep, so we want to get on that level with them, especially since we’re in the same conference.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.