The Oak Lawn Community High School girls volleyball team opened the season steamrolling the competition. In fact, they repeated as champions at the Fenton Bison Blast-off Tournament, and didn’t even lose a single set before heading into their own Spartan Classic in late September. They finished fourth there, but they learned how to react when their backs were against the wall versus tough competition and how to rebound after losing a difficult set.
In the end, those tough tests set the stage for the Spartans to finish the conference season as back-to-back South Suburban Conference Red champions. It’s a team that is loaded with veteran talent. The Spartans are led by seniors Kaitlyn Berkery, Amina Maali, Sinead Conroy, Emma McAuliffe, Hailey Wierzgac, juniors Maryam Hussein and Kasey Thompson, along with sophomore Maggie Mitchell.
“Coaching these girls has been such a blessing and an absolute joy,” head coach Kathleen Miller said. “While many may define a successful season based strictly on record, we carry the measure of our success further in our program—each day, these girls demonstrated passion for the sport, pride in representing Oak Lawn, and most importantly, their love for each other.”
Oak Lawn finished the conference run at 12-1 with just one loss to eventual SSC Blue champion Lemont. Beyond the conference crown, it was certainly a regular season to remember for the senior-dominated Spartan squad though as they broke all kinds of records enroute to the winning the title.
As a team, the Spartans broke the single-season record for aces (284). In fact, they have now eclipsed 300 for the year. McAuliffe broke the individual single-season record for aces as she passed 2019 Oak Lawn graduate Julia Janks, who had 74. McAuliffe also broke the school record of 942 for career digs and eventually surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark.
“Individually, breaking three records was never even a thought in my mind three years ago when I played for the freshman team,” McAuliffe said. “I couldn’t have done it without my amazing coaches and teammates pushing me each day to be the best I can be. I am so proud of myself for how far I have come from being that scared little freshman.”
In addition to all of that, the Spartans surpassed the single-season school record for wins with 28 on Friday night as they defeated Bloom Township for Senior Night.
“These girls have made lifelong memories and bonds with their teammates, and I know they will carry the lessons they have learned from volleyball with them throughout their lives,” Miller said. “I have never been prouder of a team, and I wish this season could last forever—this is a truly special group.”
McAuliffe agrees that team growth was the key with this group of girls.
“As a team, I knew we were destined to have a bright future as soon as our roster was mostly sophomores two years ago, leading up to today with nine seniors who will go down in history,” she said. “We truly grew as a team and our chemistry is what brings us together and makes us play well, leading to being a team that that holds multiple records including the team wins record and team aces record. I am immensely proud of each one of my teammates and coaches for how far we have all come—not only volleyball wise but as individuals too.”
