Mother McAuley senior Sam Falk is planning on having a lot of floor burns this season.
When you’re replacing one of the best liberos the Mighty Macs have ever had, there really is no other way.
Of all the pieces of advice that Gigi Navarrete gave her before leaving for Northwestern, this one struck the deepest.
“She told me to go for every ball, no matter what,” Falk said. “Even if you can’t get it, just go for it. You never know what can happen. She really took me under her wing and shaped me into the player I am today.”
The Loyola recruit made things happen and then some Tuesday night for the red-hot Mighty Macs in a 25-6, 25-13 season-opening victory over host Joliet Catholic.
Falk finished with eight digs and two aces for McAuley (1-0). Alabama recruit Ellery Rees had seven kills and three blocks, while Michigan commit Ellie White tallied six kills and Keira Ohse added five. Steph Theis had nine assists, while Peyton Heatherly added five assists and four aces.
Olivia Chovanec and Brooke Simon paced Joliet Catholic (0-1) with three kills apiece. Zoe Girard added seven digs, while Jessica Horn contributed 11 assists.
Rees was one of the standouts for the Mighty Macs. The 6-foot-3 middle hitter used her height advantage to pound down several quick sets from Heatherly and Theis while forming a wall at the net along with the 6-1 Ohse.
It was quite an opening statement for McAuley, which is looking to defend its Class 4A state championship.
“It felt so awesome playing in front of a crowd again,” Rees said. “It was something we had missed for a long time. I feel like we got to show what we had been working on in the preseason.”
Falk, meanwhile, is a three-year returning starter. As a junior, she totaled 316 digs, second only behind Navarrete’s whopping 613. She was also among the team leaders with 89 service points and 31 aces.
It was at the service line where she did her first damage against JCA.
After Rees scored the first point on a kill off a quick set, Falk served for eight consecutive points. Two came on aces.
A surprise? It shouldn’t be, according to Mighty Macs coach Jen DeJarld.
“Remember the state tournament last year?” DeJarld said. “Sam is the one who dug us out of a hole in the semifinal with her serving. She and Ellie are our best servers. Sam can put that ball exactly where I want her to put it.”
She has had enough training, to be sure.
“Coach (Jen) DeJarld really focuses on serving,” Falk said. “We’re one of the best serving teams, I think, because we serve every practice for a while.
“It felt great to have that start. It was so surreal. I’ve been waiting since my sophomore year to finally settle into the libero position my senior year. I just left it all on the floor.”
Falk laid out a few times to bring up JCA hits. The libero jersey hitting the floor didn’t look any different from it did last season when Navarrete was wearing it.
“Man, she’s everywhere,” White said. “I mean, she comes out of nowhere and gets everything up. She never lets the ball fall. There is always an attempt, always a try. That’s huge.
“If you don’t go for a ball … you never know. It’s like a what if. But we don’t have that with Sam. We can always expect her to get everything up. Going into her senior year, she has fought for the libero spot and earned it for sure.”
DeJarld is more than happy to give her that chance.
“Sam has been waiting a long time behind Gigi to play this role,” DeJarld said. “You can see the way she throws her body. She’s relentless on defense. She owned it here.”