On Campus: Cary-Grove grad Bree Coffey finds better fit with Loyola volleyball

When former Cary-Grove volleyball standout Bree Coffey stepped onto Loyola University’s Chicago campus in January, she did so with an uncertain future.

“I wasn’t too sure about whether I wanted to play volleyball,” Coffey said. “I was just a normal student. I didn’t know if I wanted to keep going or not.”

Volleyball originally took her to Rutgers University in New Jersey. Her time away from home as a freshman last fall quickly became difficult.

“I had a really hard time being that far away,” said Coffey, a defensive specialist/libero. “At first, I thought, ‘Oh, I’m ready to go explore the rest of the world.’ About a month into it, I was crying all the time. I missed home. I missed my parents.”

While the Scarlet Knights struggled to a 4-28 record in their second Big Ten Conference season, Coffey was overwhelmed by the school’s 67,000-plus students.

“I was dumbfounded by the amount of people on campus,” she said. “I felt like an ant in a giant colony.”

She applied to Loyola and was accepted but also debated spending the spring at a community college.

“When I came for a tour of campus in January, I knew I could see myself here for the next 3½ years,” said Coffey, who reached out to Loyola coach Chris Muscat upon her arrival. “It’s beautiful. I love the location of it in relation to downtown. You don’t feel like you’re in the hustle and bustle. It’s a separate little getaway.”

Near the end of the spring semester, she reached out again to Muscat.

“When May rolled around, I thought, ‘Man, I really miss volleyball,’” she said. “[Muscat] was really receptive when I emailed again. I felt like he wanted to know more about me. That was comforting.”

Coffey, who played in 20 matches at Rutgers, is one of three sophomore players at her position for Loyola, which has 13 first- or second-year players on the roster.

“There are two other amazing DS’s,” she said. “They have a better grasp right now. Having that November to June break when I didn’t touch a volleyball, that obviously has taken a toll on my performance. I understand that it will take some time.”

The Ramblers, who were 20-12 last season, opened the 2016 season at this weekend’s NIU Invitational in DeKalb.

“We have a very talented roster,” she said. “We’re a pretty young team, but that’s what’s exciting. You see these moments in practice when great things happen.”

Is Coffey creating some of those great moments?

“I think so,” she said with a laugh. “There are moments when I feel like that’s the old me. They’re there. Not consistently, but they’re there. It makes it a challenge to see what I can push myself to do. I like this challenge. I’m excited for that.”

Winning at Western: Alex Siavelis (Crystal Lake South) and Stacie Wolfgram (Crystal Lake Central) were immediate contributors in D-I Western Illinois' season-opening women's soccer match.

The Leathernecks (1-1) beat Chicago State, 3-1, last weekend, outshooting the Cougars by a 23-6 margin.

Siavelis, a sophomore, started at one midfield spot and posted a team-high five shots, including three on goal.

Wolfgram, a freshman reserve, had three shots, including two on goal for first-year coach Eric Johnson’s team. Johnson is the longtime WIU men’s soccer coach who took over expanded duties this season coaching the women’s program.

Last season, Siavelis appeared in eight matches, playing a total of 42 minutes.

Back again at Minnesota: Crystal Lake Central grad Zach Siegmeier, a two-time All-American and three-time Big Ten Conference champion pole vaulter at Minnesota, is heading back to campus.

Siegmeier has been hired as the Gophers’ director of operations for the track and field and cross country programs.

During his senior season in 2014, Siegmeier swept the conference indoor and outdoor pole vault titles. He also won the 2013 outdoor conference title. Siegmeier ranks fourth in school history in the outdoor pole vault at 18 feet, 1 inch. His best indoor mark of 17-10 ½ ranks fifth all time.

Top of the soccer poll: Defending Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer champion Wartburg has been chosen to repeat in a preseason poll of league coaches.

Forward/midfielder Olivia Jansen of Johnsburg, who was a first-team all-conference player last season, returns for her senior season with the Knights.

Wartburg received six of the nine possible first-place votes in the conference poll. This month, they were chosen No. 18 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason rankings.

Jansen had three goals and a career-high four assists last season for the Knights (15-5-3), who advanced to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 after capturing the IIAC regular-season and tournament titles.

• Barry Bottino writes a weekly column about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and follow @BarryOnCampus on Twitter.