Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week: St. Charles North’s Haley Burgdorf, girls volleyball, junior

Name: Haley Burgdorf

Sport: Girls volleyball

Why she was selected: In two matches against Lake Park and Glenbard West, Burgdorf put up 16 and 19 kills, respectively, and helped the North Stars secure at least a share of the DuKane Conference title.

Burgdorf was selected the Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week in an online vote.

Here is her Q&A with sports reporter Joel Boenitz.

You had 35 kills across two matches. What were you feeling in those games?

Burgdorf: I was just feeling that those were two pretty big games with Glenbard West being ranked and Lake Park playing pretty well in our conference. And I just knew we had to get it done and then we have one more week and then we can win conference. Just keep pushing and winning and getting it done so we can have a better seeding at sectionals and regionals.

You’re averaging 6.7 kills a set so far this season. What do you think has led to that success?

Burgdorf: I think just mixing up my shot a ton. A lot of people just expect me to smash the ball straight down and I know that’s not going to work all the time because people are great blockers out there. It’s just mixing up the shots, going at the hands, going to the corner, maybe smash the ball every once in a while, which is always fun and great. But I think it’s just the fact that I can mix up my shots helping me a lot.

Your win over Lake Park secured at least a share of the DuKane Conference title. What was the feeling of securing that?

Burgdorf: It’s an amazing feeling. And just being able to do it with all of us is a really special feeling. And some of us juniors got to play in that Senior Night against Lake Park and it was just a memorable moment. And we’re all in this together now.

St. Charles North has had at least a share of the title in each of your first three seasons there. What’s been the key to that success?

Burgdorf: It’s great because each year we’ve gotten better and better and we just keep improving. It’s just a relief to know we’re No. 1 in conference and we can do it again next year and the year after that and it’s just that confidence booster that we all basically need at the end of the season, that we know we got this and we’re a pretty good team to play in regionals and sectionals and go up against teams like Benet, maybe even Marist or Mother McAuley. So it’s just that confidence booster that we get. And for three years, it’s been exciting, and I’m going to do it a fourth year.

The North Stars have faced some quality teams over the past few weeks such as Glenbard West, Benet and Oswego. What did you learn from facing them?

Burgdorf: I think we’ve learned that you can’t just go into the game and expect that you’re going to win or upset a team. You’ve got to actually play and then play as a team together and then just crush it from there. Because obviously our first time against Benet wasn’t the best, but the second time we came around, we were ready, and we were ready to just throw them off. It’s just that flip of a switch that we have to put on almost all the time and not just certain times, which I think is amazing. We’ll probably end up playing Benet, most likely in the sectional finals. So we’ve just got to be ready and keep improving our game and just have fun with it, too.

Do you have any superstitions?

Burgdorf: I think it’s always my braid. I usually always have two braids, no matter if it’s down or if it’s too high a bun. But usually it’s a high bun with two braids. But I’ve been obsessed with the buns recently.