Goss: Joliet Catholic grad Kelly Murphy proving her value in Olympics

Monday marked the opening of fall high school football practice around the state.

A late-afternoon stop at the Joliet Catholic Academy practice field was part of my afternoon itinerary.

Coach Dan Sharp and I naturally talked football, but he also brought up something else for discussion – JCA graduate Kelly Murphy in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“We have Kelly Murphy in the Olympics, how great is that?” He said. “I don’t believe our school ever had a gold medalist in the Olympics. She could be the first.

“But she not only is a great volleyball player. What you noticed when she was in school here is she is such a nice girl.”

JCA girls volleyball coach Christine Scheibe, who has built and maintained a state-caliber program, often has expressed her admiration for the 6-foot-2 Murphy’s all-around game, and for Murphy as a person.

At this point, Murphy’s objective is to be the best teammate she can be and help the USA claim its first Olympic gold medal in women’s volleyball. The U.S. earned silver in 2008 and 2012, losing to Brazil both times in the gold-medal match. The Americans also won Olympic silver in 1984 and bronze in 1992.

The only gold medal for the USA in the three major volleyball tournaments (Olympics, FIVB World Championships and FIVB World Cup) came via a 3-1 victory over China at the 2014 FIVB World Championships in Italy. Murphy was a member of that team.

In the six-team Pool B at the Olympics, the USA women have beaten Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17), and the Netherlands, 3-2 (18-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20,15-8). Next up is Wednesday’s 1 p.m. match against Serbia, followed by Friday’s 1 p.m. battle with Italy and Sunday’s 3:05 p.m. match against China.

The quarterfinals are next Tuesday, the semifinals Thursday, Aug. 18 and the gold- and bronze-medal matches Saturday, Aug. 20.

If you have not had the opportunity to watch the USA in action, the time is right to correct that situation. Olympic women’s volleyball is an attraction in itself, but when our area has a player of Murphy’s caliber involved, it is so much more thrilling.

In the USA’s victory last Saturday over Puerto Rico, the left-handed hitting Murphy, who plays opposite, totaled 13 kills in 19 attempts for a remarkable .684 hitting percentage. She also scored on a block for 14 points.

The USA trailed the Netherlands, 2-1, after three sets Monday before rallying to win the last two to move to 2-0 in the competition. Murphy came up huge when it mattered most.

In the fourth set, she had back-to-back kills for an 8-7 lead, then a cross-court winner to extend the USA’s lead to 11-8. After the Netherlands fought back into an 18-17 lead, she scored off a kill and a block to get the USA back on top, 21-18. Then she added a kill and an ace to make it 24-20, and the USA ended it on a Netherlands error.

Murphy got her team going in the tiebreaker with a point off a block. She had kills that gave the Americans leads at 7-3, 12-5 and finally match point. She finished the match with a team-high 18 points on 15 kills in 31 attempts and three blocks.

So Murphy not only is a member of the U.S. Olympic women’s volleyball team, the former University of Florida All-American, whose hometown is Wilmington, is proving to be among its best players on the biggest stage of all. Yet she goes about her business with humility.

As University of St. Francis women’s basketball coach Samantha Quigley said of her former high school teammate: “Kelly walks in a gym and it’s that attention she draws. Her demeanor is low key. She is very humble. She is almost a quiet assassin. She reminds me a lot of Allie in that regard.”

Allie is Quigley’s older sister. Both Quigleys are former basketball, volleyball and softball standouts at JCA. Allie Quigley is the two-time defending WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year with the Chicago Sky.

Kelly Murphy drawing a comparison to Allie Quigley – that’s quite a compliment to both.

• Dick Goss can be reached at dgoss@shawmedia.com.