Lemont’s Jacob TerMaat has fun playing volleyball. And he wants to see the fans sharing in that fun.
If he’s happy, the senior setter/right-side hitter wants everyone to be happy.
“I like to look around and see in the stands that everyone is having a good time,” he said. “I want to see that everyone on the court is having a great time. All I can do is be on the court and smile.
“I want to have as much fun as possible and try to get everyone to play their best game.”
There have been a lot of smiles this spring for TerMaat and Co.
Lemont (14-8), which finished 11-6 in 2021 and won the South Suburban Blue title with an 8-2 record, is having its best season in program history.
TerMaat, who was named the SSC Blue’s player of the year last season, has been happy to be along for the ride.
He played club volleyball as a freshman and sophomore but not for Lemont.
“He played baseball his first two years,” Lemont coach Chris Zogata said. “He decided when he was a junior to just focus on volleyball and play here his junior and senior years. He was a nice addition to the team obviously.”
As a setter, TerMaat has been a steady force. As a hitter, he also can be dangerous, showing that April 12 during a 26-28, 25-15, 25-16 loss to Lockport.
“He had nine kills in his first nine attempts against us,” Lockport coach Nick Mraz said. “He was making us look bad.”
“Hitting is always a good experience for me,” TerMaat said. “If I play my best game and get the shots, I’ll get the kills.”
TerMaat has plans to go to Purdue to study engineering.
“If Purdue wasn’t an option, the Milwaukee School of Engineering was on the table for me,” he said. “I switched to this sport full time two years ago. It can still be there in college on the club level.”
Wide-open spaces: Marist became the last nationally ranked team from the Chicago area to suffer a loss, dropping a 25-20, 25-16 decision Saturday to Glenbard West in the championship match of the Brother Rice Smack Attack.
Marist (21-1) was ranked fourth in the country by the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association. Glenbard West was eighth in that April 22 poll.
In May, there are a handful of teams that could contend for the state title, with Lincoln-Way East, Glenbrook North, Downers Grove South and Barrington also receiving recognition this season in that poll.
Marist’s Kellen O’Keefe, a senior outside hitter, and Brendan Schoeberl, a junior libero, are looking forward to the showdowns.
“There are a lot of close teams who are really competitive,” O’Keefe said. “It’s going to be very intense.”
“The competition is great and anyone can win it,” Schoeberl said.
Lincoln-Way East finished third in the Smack Attack, losing 25-23, 25-22 in the semifinals against Glenbard West. The Griffins beat the Hilltoppers 22-25, 25-21, 25-23 during the first week of the regular season.
“It’s whoever gets hot at the end of the year will win it,” Lincoln-Way East coach Kris Fiore said of the state tournament. “Our match with Glenbard West could have gone either way. It’s anybody’s tournament.”
College champs: Carthage, which features setter Gene McNulty (Marist) and middle hitter Zach Bulthuis (Chicago Christian), won its second straight NCAA Division III Tournament title over the weekend in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Before the national semifinals, both former area standouts were named to the National Volleyball Association/AVCA All-American first team.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.