NORMAL – The final swing of Emily Holbrook’s girls volleyball career at Joliet Catholic was — in a word — prodigious.
The Arizona State recruit let fly with a spike out of the middle that bounced off a Latin defender and caromed straight back toward the seating area.
Holbrook then left the court, as the Angels polished off a 25-13, 25-18 victory Saturday that earned them the Class 3A third-place trophy.
It was the 11th trophy in the program’s history, and the ninth under coach Christine Scheibe.
When all was said and done, Holbrook had the most swings and the most kills. She most definitely left it all on the court.
“I wouldn’t want to end my high school career any other way,” Holbrook said. “I’ve been playing with most of my teammates or against them since fifth grade. It was awesome to end my senior year with them on the same team.”
Holbrook finished with nine kills for the Angels (28-14). Jillian Gray had eight kills and 15 digs, Molly Hibner contributed 12 digs and Ryan Hinshaw delivered 24 assists and 10 digs.
Katie Kraczkowsky led Latin (35-4) with eight kills and 10 digs. Charlotte Chronister added 13 digs.
Holbrook wasn’t just aggressive in Saturday’s victory, she was accurate. Out of her 26 swings, she made just two errors. She’d have had more kills had not Chronister and Kraczkowsky made a handful of spectacular digs.
“For (Holbrook) to hit and go out the way she did was fitting,” Scheibe said. “She is going to be a defensive specialist in college. So I think it’s a fitting way for her to end her career with those kills.”
The win followed an emotional Friday. After losing the semifinal match to Sterling, the Angels players met in their hotel to talk about the season.
“We had a conversation about how much we love each other,” Hibner said. “We talked about how this team wouldn’t be the same without any of the younger kids coming up.
“We did some crying. This was the last time together for everyone. We said we were all going out for each other. It was going to be a battle and we pulled it together.”
Save for a couple of early ties in both games, the Angels led the match from start to finish.
Hinshaw ran the offense quickly and diversely, with Sophie Krzysciak, Bella Ray, Holbrook and Gray all doing a lot of swinging.
Latin put up a fight, with moderate success.
“I knew when they switched their outside (Chronister) to libero in the second game it was going to be good because I played her in club,” Holbrook said. “She picked up a lot of balls. So we knew they had a good defense.
“Other than that, we knew they were going to get their kills. But I knew we could stop them, especially with our front row blocking them.”
Having bounced back from a series of physical setbacks all season, the Angels rebounded from Friday’s loss just as impressively.
“This group just showed a tremendous amount of heart,” Scheibe said. “As the season went on they developed a personality of their own.
“They had their own identity, and they had a tremendous amount of fight and a tremendous amount of love for each other. When they came together, they were a phenomenal team.”
