Marist senior Juliana Valdez is working harder than most to get ready for the 2023 season.
The 5-foot-11 middle hitter is in the last stretch of rehab following an ACL injury to her right knee during a club practice in January.
“I’m cleared to play softball and I can do sand volleyball,” Valdez said. “I just can’t be in the gym yet. The doctor said that in a month or so I’ll be ready for the preseason. I was really excited when he told me that.”
This is not her first rodeo with rehab.
Valdez suffered an ACL injury to her left knee in March 2020 while playing volleyball for Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School. It happened just before the COVID-19 shutdown.
Her surgery was delayed until May due to pandemic regulations. Had there been volleyball that fall at Marist, she wouldn’t have had a freshman season.
But there wasn’t. Valdez had plenty of time to rehab and be ready for the shortened spring season in 2021.
“I had no idea what was for the future,” Valdez said. “After we figured out that there would actually be a season, I was very excited. I worked very hard to be ready to play.”
Valdez played on the freshman team for Marist in spring 2021 and on the JV team as a sophomore.
She made her varsity debut as a junior, totaling 112 kills and 37 blocks as the RedHawks (31-8) advanced to a Class 4A sectional championship match.
Valdez will be a key player this season for Marist coach Jordan Vidovic.
“She’s on the comeback again,” Vidovic said. “I’m excited for her to get the chance to get back healthy for her senior season and finish strong after a lot of roadblocks along the way.”
Taking over: Last season, Lincoln-Way East had two Southland senior standouts in outside hitters Ava Nepkin and Jada James.
But junior libero Lexi Byas stood out her own as the team’s backbone of the back row. The 5-foot-2 dynamo earned praise from then-coach Kris Fiore as “one of the most electric liberos in the state.”
How do you top that as a senior?
“Since Jada and Ava left, I feel like this will be about leadership, being a leader for our team,” Byas said. “They were great leaders last season. So it’ll be my time to take their place and fill in their shoes.”
Last season, Byas had 297 digs and 16 aces for the Griffins (31-7), who won a Class 4A regional title.
Her skills and enthusiasm showed Tuesday during a summer league match against Stagg at Velocity in Mokena.
For new Griffins coach Sean Burns — who was a varsity assistant last season — it was nothing new.
“She’s a sparkplug,” Burns said. “She’s always smiling. That brings up the mood at practice and gives us energy on the court as well.
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“Lexi is a great defender and brings a great serve, too. She’s going to lead us back there. The sky’s the limit for her.”
Assist from the heart: Sandburg’s Keira Fitzgerald missed the first week of summer league, but she was probably in better shape than anyone by Week 2.
The senior setter was on a mission trip to Nashville, where she and other teens from her parish painted porches and built railings for older people.
“My sister Marykate had done it for a couple of years and spoke really highly of it,” Fitzgerald said. “It was a great experience. It helped me with my faith, but it also gave me an opportunity to give back to the community.”
Fitzgerald had 475 assists, 270 digs and 45 aces last season in helping lead the Eagles (23-15) to a Class 4A sectional final.
She will be concentrating on academics in college.
“This will be one last ride and I’m very excited about it,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m looking forward to ending with a bang.”
