Girls volleyball: St. Charles North flashes potential in season-opening win over Rosary
Jessica Parker didn't know her pre-match surprise was coming.
Parker, the St. Charles North senior setter, achieved a mark no one in the 22-year history of St. Charles North girls volleyball had done - she hit 1,000 career assists.
Only for Parker, that achievement came during her final match as a junior.
It formally was recognized prior to the North Stars' eventual 25-13, 25-13 sweep over Rosary to kick off the season.
Luckily for Parker, she has an entire season to build upon it.
"I'm proud of myself, but I also think I want to keep going and set the record forever so no one gets close to it," Parker said. "But it's really exciting."
St. Charles North coach Lindsay Hawkins has coached Parker since she was 11. By this point, the trust with Parker to put the ball in the right spot for an attack appears like clockwork.
"I think there's just a comfort level," Hawkins said. "She can look at me when something is going wrong. Actually, usually, she instinctively knows what she did wrong [in the event of it] so I rarely have to tell her. She's a great player."
"I get a lot of comments from coaches sometimes saying: 'Wow, she fakes us out,'" Hawkins continued. "Sometimes, I forget how good she is because I have been on her a lot since she was young. So sometimes, I have to catch myself and take myself back and say: 'Yeah, she is really good."
Parker is a definite highlight returner for the North Stars, as is junior Katie Scherer, who verbally committed to Maryland over the summer.
Scherer had four kills on Monday.
"She just spent a lot of time playing all over the country for different teams," Hawkins said of Scherer. " ... She is awesome. She's always been solid for us. But, right now, what's really great for us, is just her all-around game, her back row game. Her passing is phenomenal. She's probably our best passer and having her be able to hit out of the back row is hard to defend."
The North Stars (1-0), though, might have another major chess piece to utilize - one that won't fly under the radar for very long - freshman outside hitter Hayley Burgdorf.
"Her vertical is so high and then she touches super high," Hawkins said on Burgdorf, who had eight kills and a pair of aces in her varsity debut. "She's hitting the ball at a very high-contact [rate]. She's got that 'It factor' where she demands the ball and she's got a presence on the court even as a 14-year-old that you don't see very often."
"This summer was the first time we really saw her," Parker said. "She came into summer camp and we all just started clicking with her right away. I don't know. I think [Hayley and I] definitely have a special connection when it comes to setting her. I can set her fastballs and she always kills it."
Rosary (0-1), meanwhile, returns about six from last season's varsity team. Kylie Loquercio, who had 431 kills last season, graduated. Meanwhile, others like senior setter Sarah Schmidt, outside hitter Jessica Hirner, libero Lola Blankenheim and middle Megan Lanan will all combine to what the program hopes will be a strong season.
"Really, it only goes up from here," Royals coach Franky Martinez said. "We are in a new conference [Girls Catholic Athletic Conference] so right now, it's kind of an anomaly in that sense. We just have to go out there and figure out what the conference is bringing to the table. But, in terms of that, this is a team that is very much looking for growth this season."
The Royals were led by four kills from Lanan and two kills and two aces from Claire McEniry.
"That is why we play the regular season to seed us for the playoffs," Martinez continued. "We're very much working toward that. Today, yes, even though it was a tough loss, all of it is to build toward the end of the season."