Oak Creek has something brewing
Volleyball team is very close-knit
For the Oak Creek volleyball team, it’s all about family.
The Knights, who graduated eight seniors from last year’s team, were not expecting this level of success in 2018, but here they are.
They capped the regular season with a record of 28-9 and now look to do damage in the postseason as the No. 4 seed in their sectional.
Ask around, and the team members all attribute that success to being a close-knit unit.
“They are a family,” Oak Creek head coach Kristan Hren said. “There is love there. You’ll always work harder for someone that you care about, and these girls do. They know that each of their teammates would run through a brick wall for them, and you can see how that’s directly made us better.”
A parallel to another team
It isn’t hard to find the preps-to-pros parallel with the Knights.
As the Milwaukee Brewers continue the National League Championship Series with Game 3 on Monday, they employ that same mindset.
Oak Creek sophomore outside hitter Grace Hanel sees the similarities — and she would know.
Hanel’s father, Marcus, is the Brewers’ bullpen catcher, which has allowed her to spend the entire season around the team.
“I think the main reason they’ve been having success is that they’re really just like a family together,” Grace Hanel said about the Brewers. “They all have fun together. They really all have a relationship with everyone else. Just bringing that to volleyball and our team has made us like a family.”
That dynamic comes from the top down, she said.
“A lot of the seniors have really set an example. We’ve just been following in their footsteps,” Hanel said. “We all trust each other and nobody is focused on their individual stats or anything.”
In turn, the Knights haven’t missed a beat.
“Coming into this season, we lost eight seniors from last year, so we weren’t expecting to do as well this year,” senior Taylor Seney said. “But it’s all come together ever since the beginning of the year. It’s been better than what I was expecting.”
On a team with four heavily contributing sophomores, though, Hanel has had her own impact.
“She’s happy all the time, no matter what she’s doing,” Hren said. “You see that rub off on her teammates. Even during a match, if she’s not playing well or the team is struggling a bit, she’s one of the ones picking her teammates up.”
A busy fall season for Hanel
It has been a hectic fall for Hanel, but also an incredibly memorable one.
She is second on the Knights with 182 kills and a 1.9 kills per set average, behind only Seney, an all-state candidate, in both categories.
Oak Creek has been winning, but so has her other team.
Hanel and her family attended most of the Brewers home games this season, and she celebrated with the team after it clinched the NL Central Division on Oct. 1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
“It’s been really fun getting into the swing of things with volleyball,” Hanel said. “Then it’s been really awesome getting to go to the Brewers games and watch the team have success.”
On Saturday, the Hanel family flew to Los Angeles to watch Game 3 at Dodger Stadium.
It could be a lot to manage, being a varsity volleyball player and spending the fall traveling and watching her dad’s team make a playoff run, but Hren said that Hanel’s maturity level as a sophomore helps her take it all in stride.
“I can’t believe how well she’s balanced it all,” Hren said. “She doesn’t like the spotlight, but it’s hard with everything going on. She’s going to miss practice and she doesn’t miss her team, but she can miss a couple practices and be fine. She needs to be a part of that.
“It doesn’t come out in her game. She doesn’t ever seem stressed out. We’re very lucky to have her as a part of this team, for sure.”
Looking to make a playoff run
Much like the Brewers, the Knights are hoping that their team-first mentality will lead to some postseason success.
Oak Creek kicks off WIAA Division 1 regional play Thursday night against Racine Park.
“We’re in a position where we can write our own ticket,” Hren said. “We’ve got Park, then probably Muskego.
“If we keep winning, we’ll probably see Greendale in the sectional semis. They’re very good, but we’re getting there. We’ll be prepared and we’ve got a lot of heart.”