Block party
5-foot-4 senior setter Al-Amin gets 3 rejections in H-F’s win over Lincoln-Way West
The biggest number isn’t always the most satisfying.
That was certainly the case for Homewood-Flossmoor senior Aisha Al-Amin after a recent victory over Lincoln-Way West.
The 5-foot-4 setter had 18 assists during the match. But it was standing tall at the net for three blocks that brought out her biggest smile afterward.
“When I was up and I got blocks … I didn’t actually think I would get one,” Al-Amin said. “It’s always exciting to get a block, especially from a 5-4 player.”
She wasn’t the only one who got excited, according to senior outside hitter Heather Wicks.
“Oh, yes, we literally screamed,” Wicks said, laughing. “We were cheering so loud because she got three blocks. We were like, ‘Wow, now we have to go get pizza or something.’ ”
Blocking aside, Al-Amin has been setting the tone very well for the Vikings (3-2).
Through five matches, she has totaled 98 assists. Her season high was 28, in a three-game victory on March 18 over Lincoln-Way Central.
In Tuesday’s rematch, won by the Knights 15-25, 25-20, 25-22, Al-Amin sat in the second game along with the rest of the starters. She still finished with 18 assists.
Al-Amin is playing a different role for H-F as a senior.
As a sophomore and junior, she ran a 6-2 offense along with Rorie Dougherty. Last season, the duo helped lead the Vikings to conference and regional titles.
Most of the starters from that team graduated. Dougherty is playing at Kalamazoo.
New coach Bob St. Leger’s first pitch to Al-Amin was a change-up.
“I think she was surprised when I told her we were going to go to a 5-1 offense and she would be a six-rotation player,” St. Leger said. “But she has handled it very well. She’s kind of small, but she can hold her own at the net.”
It was a challenge Al-Amin welcomed.
“When he told me I was surprised,” Al-Amin said. “I was thinking, ‘Oh, it’s just going to be a 6-2, normal season.’ And when he said I was playing all the way around, I was thinking, ‘You want me, the shortest player on the team?’
“He was like, ‘Yes, you’ll be fine.’ And I just said, ‘OK,’ and took it with a grain of salt. I try not to get nervous and get my hands up. I just jump up and hope for the best.”
Al-Amin shakes it up when choosing her setting targets.
“She does a good job spreading the ball around to all of our hitters,” St. Leger said. “I think that’s what makes us probably tough to play against. We’re not just a one or a two-person show. We have five that can hit the ball.”
True to form, five Vikings had kills in Tuesday’s match against Lincoln-Way Central by the end of Game 1.
“She makes sure to set the ball away from the flow,” St. Leger said. “She keeps the other blockers off-balance. She knows the game. She’s super smart.”
And super smooth.
“I love her sets,” Wicks said. “She has very good tempo, very good hands. When we get a perfect pass, she knows she can get that set to whoever she wants to.”
Al-Amin is making the most of her final season of volleyball. She wants to concentrate on academics in college.
“Because of COVID-19, I didn’t think we were going to get a season at all,” Al-Amin said. “When they told us that we were having a season and pushed it to spring, I was like, ‘How is that even going to happen?’
“But it happened. It’s going pretty well. I’m really happy.”