When Keira O’Donnell isn’t getting the ball enough, senior outside hitter Grace Ulatowski makes sure their Lemont teammates know it’s time to feed the sophomore middle hitter.
And when she hears Ulatowski calling out her name in an emphatic fashion, the 6-foot O’Donnell feeds off the team’s star having faith in her.
“I love how Grace will be in the back row and she’ll be saying, ‘Keira! Set Keira!'” O’Donnell said. “Then they’ll set me. I just love hearing her say that, and that gives me a lot of confidence. She’s an amazing leader.”
O’Donnell took on the lead role Monday night, delivering six kills, two blocks and two aces as Lemont cleared a major hurdle with a 25-18, 25-19 victory over Providence in the Class 3A Joliet Catholic Sectional semifinals.
Ulatowski finished with nine kills, 14 digs and four aces for top-seeded Lemont (26-12). Riley Conry had 13 digs and April Rice dished out 13 assists.
Payton Mandac led fourth-seed Providence (19-19) with five kills. Olivia Cosgrove, Abbey Knight and Olivia Fitzgibbon each had three kills, while Kylie Williams finished with nine assists.
Lemont advanced to take on the second-seeded host Angels (21-17) — a 21-25, 25-21, 25-20 winner over fifth-seeded Marian Catholic (12-21) — at 6 p.m. Wednesday for the sectional title.
It will be the first appearance in a sectional final since 2012 for Lemont, which has often had trouble in the semifinal round.
“It feels amazing,” O’Donnell said. “Coach (Chris Zogata) said that nobody has gotten past this point in her time coaching and I’m really happy we could get here.”
O’Donnell showed off her variety of skills during a strong start to the second game for Lemont, coming up with two kills, a block and an ace and serving for four consecutive points to help her team build an 8-2 lead.
“Keira just wants to win,” Zogata said. “She’s going to do what she needs to do to win. If she’s not getting set, she’s going to try to win the game on blocks. If we’re passing to her, there’s a good chance she’s going to get a kill. She’s that dominant in front.
“I’m hoping in the next two years she’ll be that kid that everybody’s going to be like, ‘Gosh, we have to play against Keira.'”
Providence rallied to take a 12-11 lead in the second game, but Lemont retook control with a 6-0 run for a 23-17 lead. Ulatowski sparked that spurt with three consecutive aces.
“I just wanted to get it over with, all the stress and everything, and just finish it off,” Ulatowski said.
Ulatowski believes she and O’Donnell are a dynamic duo.
“Keira has such a high ceiling,” Ulatowski said. “I think she has so much potential. She’s amazing on this team right now, and I just can’t imagine in the future, when I’m gone, what she’s going to do for this team.
“We feed off each other’s energy. When she gets a kill, I go crazy, and she does the same for me. We just support each other so much.”
Providence, meanwhile, is still searching for its first sectional title since 2001.
“We have four solid freshmen who got experience throughout the season, winning a regional,” Providence coach Lee Rucinski said. “But I feel bad for the senior class.
“This is the seventh straight regional title, but we can’t get over this hump. That was our goal, but we just couldn’t get it done.”
Lemont wants more now.
“I for sure think we’re not done yet,” Ulatowski said. “We’re super excited, and we just keep want to keep pushing.
“The biggest thing on our mind is just to keep going on the road to state.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.