Owczarzak comes up aces
In third varsity season, senior turns up heat for conference champion Lincoln-Way East
Sometimes, you just have to be patient. Julia Owczarzak did her best in that regard during her junior season at LincolnWay East.
Griffins coach Kris Fiore fit her into the lineup in the back row playing defense, but she saw only spot duty in the front row. It was tough to sit.
“Yes, but I liked that I could still cheer on my team and be a part of it that way,” Owczarzak said. “I just wished I could be in the game more because that’s more exciting.”
Owczarzak has had much to be excited about during her senior season as a six-rotation starter.
She was one of the standouts in Thursday’s match. Lincoln-Way East won the SouthWest Suburban Blue title with a 25-20, 25-14 victory over Sandburg.
In Game 1, East was clinging to a 22-20 lead when Owczarzak went to the line and landed two aces. The Griffins were up 6-4 in Game 2 when her six-point service run sent them on their way.
Owczarzak finished with 13 service points, five kills, five block assists, six digs and four aces.
Along with a championship smile.
“It feels amazing,” Owczarzak said. “I haven’t really felt like this for school volleyball. Last season I didn’t play all that much. This year I’ve been starting. It’s such a good feeling to win.”
Ava Nepkin was another standout with 12 kills for the Griffins (11-0, 4-0). Cierra Gardner contributed 11 digs, while Ava Porada picked up 26 assists.
Owczarzak, a 5-foot-8 outside hitter/ right-side hitter, has 52 digs, 38 kills and six aces this season.
Her contributions have been a big part in East winning a conference title for the first time since 2017.
“She has been fantastic in a starting role this season,” Fiore said. “She is displaying senior leadership. And she is super positive. She is definitely one of the seniors who has been up on varsity since she was a sophomore and really bought in.” Milestone marker: Reaching her 600th career victory wasn’t the only thing Saturday that made Joliet Catholic coach Christine Scheibe’s day.
She was happy afterward to join the players in their own celebration.
“It was senior day,” Scheibe said. “I was hoping most of the focus would be on the seniors because it was their day. That’s the way it ended up being, which was good.”
It was also pretty special to beat Wheaton St. Francis 25-22, 25-14.
“We’ve had so many good battles with St. Francis over the years,” Scheibe said. “To get the win against them was kind of fitting, I think.
“Morgan Leuszler was there watching her sister (Kristen) play. She was on the team for my 500th win, and remembered that one was against Providence. So, a couple of milestones have come against schools we’ve had good rivalries with.”
Scheibe’s career coaching record over 21 seasons at Joliet Catholic is 600-197-10.
Her teams won state titles in Class AA in 2003 and in Class 3A in 2008 and 2009. In all, she has coached in 11 supersectionals, bringing home 10 state trophies.
She’s a member of the Joliet Catholic and East Suburban Catholic Conference halls of fame.
Winning 600 matches wasn’t exactly on Scheibe’s radar screen when she left her assistant coaching position at Morris to take the Joliet Catholic post in 2000.
“That was never one of my goals, per se,” Scheibe said, laughing. “My original goal was to win a state championship and be done. I guess I stuck around a little bit longer than that.”
The Angels (9-7) need one more victory to clinch a 20th consecutive winning season under Scheibe.
That, she said, would bring the ultimate satisfaction.
“For me, it was just always putting a good team, a competitive team, out on the floor,” Scheibe said. “I’ve been fortunate to have so many elite, good players. To have that success, I think, kept me going longer than I originally anticipated.
“When you’re winning, it’s easy and it’s fun. And the girls have always worked hard and cared about the program. That makes you want to keep going.”
Did you know? Rich East was the first Southland team to advance to the state finals. In 1974, the Rockets lost 15-10, 6-15, 15-3 to New Trier East in the championship match.