HP_111518

28 | November 15, 2018 | The highland park landmark sports
hplandmark.com
Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year
Thelander’s foundation key
for Ramblers’ good season
Michael Wojtychiw
Contributing Sports Editor
When Mallory Thelander
took over as Loyola
Academy’s girls volleyball
head coach last spring,
one of the first things she
wanted to do was change
the culture of the program.
The team was coming
off of an upset in the
regional semifinals and
needed a fresh start.
“I wanted to develop a
sense of culture throughout
the program, not just
varsity,” Thelander said.
According to Thelander,
a lot of teams do big sister,
little sister program,
but when she was the
head coach at Evanston
the Wildkits did what she
called families. Groups
of four to five girls, all at
different program levels,
made up a group of volleyball
players that would
meet together before
matches to support the
team.
“I wanted those girls to
get to know me, but also
get to know each other,”
Thelander said.
It didn’t take long for
the girls to buy into the
program, she said, and the
athletes embraced that culture
throughout the season.
The newly adopted culture
could even been seen in
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the stands, as members of
the varsity team attended
freshman and junior varsity
matches, and players
from the younger levels
showed their support for
the Ramblers at their supersectional
match against
Prairie Ridge.
Thelander won 22nd
Century Media’s inaugural
Girls Volleyball Coach of
the Year award for not only
the installation of a new
culture, but also bringing
Loyola to heights it hadn’t
achieved.
The Ramblers won
30 games, beat Mother
McAuley for the first time
in program history, won a
sectional title for the first
time since 2015 and got
within one match of going
to the state’s final four
for only the second time in
program history.
“Coming into the season,
I definitely thought
that we should go fairly
far in the postseason,” the
coach said. “Going into
the regional championship,
it was kind of one of
our big goals that I had for
Game of the Week:
• Lincoln-Way East (12-0) at Loyola Academy
(9-3)
Other matchups:
• Brother Rice (12-0) at Marist (11-1)
• Batavia (12-0) at Nazareth Academy (11-1)
• Cary-Grove (12-0) at Notre Dame (10-2)
• Montini (11-1) at Sterling H.S. (11-1)
• Rochester (11-1) at McNamara (11-1)
• Mount Carmel (11-1) at St. Charles North (9-3)
them was to at least make
it to the sectional round.
I was very excited when
we actually made it all the
way to the supersectional;
especially after that big
win against Hersey.”
With three seniors committed
to play Division-I
volleyball next season,
many expected the Ramblers
to make a deep
playoff run. Mary Kate
Lopez (Oregon State University),
Elizabeth Ford
(University of Pennsylvania)
and Anne Martinson
(Colgate University)
were all key components
to Thelander’s lineup this
season, but there were two
moments that really solidified
Thelander’s suspicions.
“We had just played
New Trier in their tournament,
the first tournament
of our season, and we lost
to them in three,” she said.
“Coming back three days
later and just annihilating
them, I think that was kind
of in my head like, ‘OK,
these girls are here to compete,
truly.’”
61-23
JOE COUGHLIN |
Publisher
• Lincoln-Way East 17, Loyola 10
Two juggernauts in a slugfest, what
more could you ask for? But the
defending-champ Griffins are an
all-time great and make a couple
more plays.
• Brother Rice
• Nazareth
• Cary-Grove
• Montini
• Rochester
• Mount Carmel
57-26
Girls Volleyball Player of the Year
Lopez’s vocal leadership plays
role in Loyola’s successful year
Michael Wojtychiw
Contributing Sports Editor
Mary Kate Lopez is a silent
leader, someone who
leads by example.
However, coming into
her senior season with
Loyola Academy’s girls
volleyball team, she hoped
to develop her voice.
“I’ve always been a silent
leader, not really a
verbal leader,” she said.
“Being aggressive not just
on the volleyball court
is something I really improved
on this year. I think
our success on the court
has helped me develop
who I am off the court too,
as a person.”
Lopez’s leadership
played a big role in why
Loyola had its most successful
season in recent
memory, she helped lead
the Ramblers to a sectional
title, 30 wins and one step
away from a trip downstate.
It’s also one of the
things that helped her earn
22nd Century Media’s inaugural
Girls Volleyball
Player of the Year award.
BRITTANY KAPA |
Sports Editor
• Lincoln-Way East 35, Loyola 24
Griffins are road warriors, and it’s
hard to pick against a team who
hasn’t lost a game in two years.
• Brother Rice
• Nazareth Academy
• Cary-Grove
• Montini
• Rochester
• Mount Carmel
67-17
MICHAL DWOJAK |
Contributing Sports Editor
• Loyola 14, Lincoln-Way East 13
The Ramblers’ revenge tour continues,
barely escaping the defending
champions in Wilmette.
• Brother Rice
• Nazareth
• Cary-Grove
• Montini
• Rochester
• Mount Carmel
67-17 63-21
MICHAEL WOJTYCHIW |
Contributing Sports Editor
• Lincoln-Way East 10, Loyola 7
Both teams have really strong
defenses, but it’s hard to go against
a team that hasn’t lost in two years,
even if the game is in Wilmette.
• Brother Rice
• Nazareth
• Cary-Grove
• Montini
• Rochester
• Mount Carmel
The 2018 season
marked Lopez’s third season
on the Ramblers varsity
squad, but the first one
in which the 6-foot-3-inch
lefty moved into the setter/
right-side hitter role. Despite
setting for her club
team in the offseason, Lopez
had primarily been a
hitter the past two seasons.
“I think just setting literally,
and figuratively
setting, is one of my
strengths,” she said. “I like
how exciting hitting is, but
I’m more of a ... I think
I’m more of a team player
my personality wise. So
hitting is exciting and it’s
cool to be tall, but I like
setting more in the long
run.”
With a team of eight seniors,
and multiple starters
returning from last year’s
squad, the Ramblers, despite
the coaching change,
had lofty expectations for
themselves starting the
season. Some of those
goals included finishing
top three in the Girls
Catholic Athletic Conference
and making it to the
sectional finals which were
achieved.
The 2018 season also
marked the first time a
Loyola player, Lopez, was
named the GCAC Player
of the Year in a long time,
if ever. The award came to
a shock to the senior.
“I really didn’t even
know that (Player of the
Year award) was a thing,”
she said. “Even when I
was younger, my dream
was to be known for what
I can do, and just prove
what I can do and have my
reputation precede me.
“It was an amazing
honor and I’m absolutely
thrilled that I won it.”
Lopez became Loyola’s
first-ever Pacific-12 Conference
recruit when she
committed to play at Oregon
State University in the
summer between her sophomore
and junior seasons.
“What really got me,
honestly, is that it’s such
a big program, but they’re
so close,” she said. “It’s a
family.”
MARTIN CARLINO |
Contributing Editor
• Lincoln-Way East 28, Loyola 17
The Ramblers made me eat my
words last week with an impressive
showing, but I think the LWE
offense overmatches LA’s defense
this week.
• Brother Rice
• Batavia
• Cary-Grove
• Montini
• Rochester
• Mount Carmel