GL_122916

28 | December 29, 2016 | The glenview lantern Sports
glenviewlantern.com
Girls volleyball
Walker sisters lead by example
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
Some people say that
when having a sibling, you
have someone that knows
what you’re going to do
or what you’re thinking.
Whether it be in athletics,
with family or in a classroom,
having that person
there can be comforting.
For Loyola Academy’s
Caroline and Elizabeth
Walker, two of the Ramblers’
top girls volleyball
players this past season, it
was as if they were on the
same wavelength.
“Me and my sister are
really close and we do
everything together and
are practically the same
person, so when she’s out
there it adds a new comfort
level and makes the game
easier and helps the game
flow easier,” Caroline
Walker said.
“I know where she’s going
to pass the ball, I know
where she’s going to hit,
we’re almost always thinking
the same way.”
With Elizabeth Walker
being a sophomore and on
her first year on varsity,
playing with her sister, a
senior, was a special moment
for her that she’ll always
remember.
“When I found out I was
going to be playing with
Caroline, it was really exciting
because we’re so
close and it’s really great
that we were able to share
her last year on varsity and
my first year together,”
Elizabeth Walker said.
The elder Walker knew
that having her sister on the
same team for the first time
in their playing careers was
going to be something special
and she had some advice
for her younger sister.
“I taught her how to be
a role model for other people,
to lead on the court because
she plays all the way
around,” Caroline Walker,
who had been on varsity
the past three seasons,
said. “I told her if she’s going
to do that she’s got to
step up, be vocal and take
charge of the team.”
Both sisters started
playing competitive volleyball
at around the same
age, while they were in
fifth grade at Our Lady of
Perpetual Help school in
Glenview. After not playing
much, even last year as
a junior, thanks to Loyola’s
great depth at the outside
hitter position, Caroline
Walker was thrust into a
leading role this season.
Her 160 kills and 36.4%
hitting percentage were
both second on the team.
“This year has been so
phenomenal,” Caroline
Walker said. “Last year I
watched some of our older
members and learned from
them and tried to use what
I learned from them.”
Elizabeth Walker had
quite the debut for the
Ramblers in her first year
on the varsity squad. She
finished just behind her sister
in kills with 166, racked
up 24 aces and proved she
was a six-rotation player
by finishing second on
the team in digs with 255,
22 behind libero Autumn
Bascon-O’Connell.
“It helped knowing several
of the players through
club and having an older
sister on the team,” Loyola
coach Mark Chang said.
“Lizzie also had a ton of
confidence and [was eager]
to display her talents
and aggressiveness. She’s
a go-getter. I attribute
much of her ability to adjust
so quickly to her self
confidence, mindset, and
positive self-talk.”
Chang was happy to
see the younger Walker’s
development as the year
went along.
“Lizzie, unlike other
players on the team, had
the opportunity to receive
feedback and discuss team
affairs. I think it’s always
nice to someone as a sounding
board that lives in the
same house as you. And by
all appearances, they truly
look like they enjoy each
other’s company and have
fun playing together.”
Boys basketball
Loyola’s Ramar Evans commits to Maryville
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
Growing up, Ramar
Evans thought he wanted
to be a baseball player.
Growing up in Chicago’s
Rogers Park neighborhood
and attending Walt
Disney Magnet School, he
played the sport through
8th grade.
But then things changed
for the Loyola Academy
senior.
“My dad and my uncle
and pretty much everyone
above me played it and
it’s a different feeling than
baseball,” Evans said.
Evans will take that love
of basketball to Maryville
University, a Division II
school in St. Louis. He
announced his commitment
on Twitter Sept. 27
after an official visit to the
school over the weekend
of Sept. 24-25.
“It was the one school
that was on me the most
and that was big for me,”
Evans said. “The guys were
very welcoming and I think
that was the best part. They
were so tight-knit.
“The culture is like
what it’s like at Loyola,
the offense is like the one
we run at Loyola and it
was like a bigger Loyola.”
Loyola boys baseball
coach Tom Livatino knew
that Evans had a future
playing in college.
“Coming in as a freshman
I would have said
he’s going to be a college
player, but not sure at
what level,” Livatino said.
“The unique part about
Ramar is that he didn’t get
caught up in the recruiting
and college process. He’d
worked so hard as a student
and knew he wanted
to find a full scholarship
opportunity, one that was
good academically, and he
found a good one.”
Evans, a three-year varsity
player, was only a
sophomore when Loyola’s
2013-14 team won the
Maine South Sectional
and lost in the Chicago
State Super-sectional to
Whitney Young, but he
was able to learn a lot
from players like James
Clarke, Kevin Kucera and
Jack Morrissey, all players
who went on to play in
college.
As a senior, Evans will
be looked upon to be a
team leader for the 2016-
17 edition of the Loyola
team, one that is looking
on improving on its 2015
season, which ended with
a heartbreaking two-point
loss to Notre Dame in the
regional final.
“We just have to play
together if we want to be
successful,” Evans said.
“That super sectional
team was tight, both on
and off the court. We just
have to be able to trust
each other.”
The 6-foot-2 combo
guard, who was a First-
Team member of Team
22 after the 2015-16 season,
averaged 14 points
per game, grabbed six rebounds
and dished out 3.5
assists per contest.
“I feel like my strengths
are I’m a good driver, defender,
tough, do all the
intangibles,” Evans said.
“Rebounding is probably
my best thing. I’ve
always been a scorer but
sophomore year I did all
the little things, got all
the scraps.”
Livatino lauded his
guard’s competitive drive.
“They are getting a very
skilled, high IQ, tough
guy that competes,” Livatino
said. “He shoots well,
he can score off the ball,
he can guard fives, guard
point guards, play at least
two positions. And his
work ethic is out of this
world.”
Evans came to Loyola
as a good, solid player but
Livatino said he’s seen
his game change in many
ways.
“Ramar has improved in
almost every area,” Livatino
said. “He came in as not
that great of a shooter and
then made 42 threes at 42
percent last year and is an
even better shooter now.”
Evans has also gotten
stronger — Livatino said
Evans has become the
strongest player they’ve
had in the program, and is
getting close to benching
300 pounds.
“There are Division
I kids that aren’t that
strong,” Livatino said.
“He’s going to flourish
while there,” the Loyola
coach said. “He’s going
to be a leader on that campus,
like he’s a leader on
our team.”