Zorich, Crocker embrace opportunity
Seniors ready to play first matches next week following Whiting’s decision to reinstate fall sports
When they heard the news, Whiting seniors Lea Zorich and Makenzy Crocker had the same reaction.
“We hugged each other and started crying,” Crocker said.
That embrace came Sept. 18 after the Whiting school board voted to reinstate fall sports, reversing its August decision to cancel them.
Three days later, Zorich, a 5-foot-2 libero, and Crocker, a 5-10 middle hitter, were back at practice, preparing to lead the young, inexperienced Oilers through an abbreviated regular season.
But that’s still better than no season at all, as Zorich pointed out.
“I’d rather play just one match and then never get to play again than just call it quits now without being able to say goodbye,” she said.
It already was going to be a challenging season for first-year coach Amanda Blackwell — a 2011 Whiting graduate — after eight players from last season’s team graduated. These circumstances have raised that bar even higher, but Blackwell remained upbeat Monday after the team’s sixth practice.
“We’ve had some longer practices,”
Blackwell said. “And we’ve staggered practice times to have hitters or passers come in early on some days to get extra work. But this is a great group of girls. I can’t say that enough. They’ve been so willing to put in as much work as possible.”
Blackwell said the Oilers have just four players with varsity experience, led by Crocker and Zorich, each in her fourth year as a varsity player. Crocker led the 2019 Oilers in kills with 120 and blocks with 64, and Zorich had a team-high 471 digs.
On Friday, Whiting will reach the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s requirement of 10 practices to become