It wasn’t that she didn’t think she could do it.
But senior outside hitter Claire Hildebrand was definitely surprised when Sandburg coach David Vales started using her for all six rotations during the Asics Challenge.
“Yeah, it was pretty random,” Hildebrand said. “He didn’t even tell me. He just threw me in. It was like, ‘All right, you’re going to serve now.’
“Sometimes, he does that to switch up the lineup once or twice. But he kept doing it the rest of the weekend, and it ended up going really well.”
Indeed, Hildebrand played a big role in helping Sandburg rebound from a slow start to win its final two matches.
She continued being a key contributor Tuesday for the Eagles in a 25-15, 25-20 SouthWest Suburban Blue victory over host Homewood-Flossmoor in Flossmoor.
Hildebrand paced Sandburg (16-11, 5-1) with five kills and eight digs. Gabby Gasior added five kills and Reilly Chausse contributed 10 digs. Cami Donausky made eight digs, while Keira Fitzgerald chalked up 15 assists and four aces.
LaDonna Trantham had five kills and six blocks for H-F (11-11, 2-4). Samantha Gorton added nine digs, while Emma Dieringer notched 10 assists.
Hildebrand picked her spots well in the victory over the Vikings.
For starters, she had kills for Sandburg’s first point in each game. In the second game, the Eagles were clinging to a 19-17 lead when she put down an important ball on an assist from Fitzgerald.
Throughout, Hildebrand was sure and steady on defense in the back row and had no service errors.
She was a real all-around success in the eyes of Chausse, who is her cousin.
“Claire has been a huge, huge part of our success,” Chausse said. “She has just gotten so much smoother and so much better over the years. And her attitude and just everything she’s done has really been a help to us.
“Oh, my gosh, sometimes it’s crazy where she gets her hitting power from. She comes out of nowhere sometimes. It’s crazy.”
And when they work together, it’s fun.
“We’ve been playing together for a while,” Hildebrand said. “We always make jokes on the court whenever we make a good play together. We call it our cousin connection.”
For the season, Hildebrand is second on the team with 120 kills and third with 150 digs to go along with 12 aces and 10 blocks.
It was more than numbers, however, that convinced Vales to play Hildebrand all-around at the Asics Challenge.
“Over the weekend, I felt that I needed what she brings above and beyond the skill,” Vales said. “There is a consistency with Gabby out there and with the other players.
“We have this little core group from our team from last year, that when they’re on the floor together, it’s something special. And we handled Minooka and Catholic Memorial very well to finish the tournament strong.”
Vales said that Hildebrand will likely play all-around for the remainder of the season. It’s a grand finale to a volleyball career that will not continue in college.
“I definitely want to do something in the medical field and I’m not very good at multitasking,” Hildebrand said. “I might do club volleyball, but I want to focus more on my career. I’m excited about that.”
It should ease the sadness.
“No, I’m very sad,” Hildebrand said. “I love volleyball. I’ve been playing for 12 years now, and it’s always been my sport. And this team … I’ve been playing with Gabby and Cami since we were nine or 10. So it’s really sad we’re going to be leaving each other.
“I think the biggest thing right now is that I like to tell my teammates it’s going to go by fast, so enjoy it and put everything you have on the floor.”