Volleyball notes: Marian Central excited to be a part of Chicagoland Christian Conference

Marian Central coach Robin Secrist is happy to be out of the East Suburban Catholic Conference and part of the first year of the Chicagoland Christian Conference, even if it means a little more traveling.

“I’m not looking forward to all the travel, obviously, but I do think it’s a much better fit,” Secrist said. “We were going up against schools like Marist and Benet, and that’s like playing college kids. It’s going to give our girls more confidence in the long run. It will be an even match.

“We’ve got a few tough [nonconference] games first, and that gets us into the higher level of play I want them to be at.”

The Hurricanes, who made state tournament appearances four times between 2010 and 2016, winning the Class 3A title in 2015, have struggled to keep up with bigger schools in the ESCC. Marian played an independent schedule last season and saw better results, going 15-16-4.

Marian is looking to take a bigger step forward this year.

The Hurricanes (1-2) picked up their first win of the season on Wednesday against Antioch and are led by their top two outside players: senior Ella Conlon and junior Hadley Rogge. Both had huge matches in a three-set loss to McHenry on Monday, with Conlon recording a match-high 14 kills.

“It’s exciting to have them, especially because they can be six-rotation players and give us some good passes in the back as well,” Secrist said. “I think a lot of it also has to do with the chemistry with our setter. Alex [Rewiako] is only a junior, so I’ve got one more year with her. Her and Hadley are connecting really well.

“We’ve just got to get our middles more involved. That’s our focus, switching it up and not always always having to go to the outside.”

Marian’s first ever Chicagoland Christian Conference match is Sept. 12 against Chicago Christian.

Wired up: Crystal Lake South freshman outside hitter Bobbi Wire has already made a significant impact in her first year for the Gators, who won their first two matches of the season before suffering back-to-back, three-set losses to Prairie Ridge and Burlington Central.

South (3-2) got back in the win column on Thursday with a three-set win over Hampshire.

Wire had six kills, eight digs and two aces in her first high school match against Fremd and led the Gators with 10 kills in an FVC win against D-C. She recorded five aces against Prairie Ridge and 13 kills and 13 digs against Burlington Central.

Gators coach Annie Moore said Wire has a fun side, but she’s also one of the team’s most under-control players. Wire’s sister, senior four-year starter Gabby Wire, is among the area’s best players and committed to DI Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“Bobbi brings a lot of laughs, that’s for sure,” Moore said. “She brings lots of energy and goofiness. For being a freshman, she has the mental toughness, probably one of the best on the team. You don’t ever see her good super down. She really takes criticism well from everyone, myself included.

“I love her energy and her work ethic. It’s been amazing to have another Wire in the gym.”

All in the family: When former McHenry coach Hillary Agnello left for a dean’s job at Crystal Lake South, senior outside hitter Mollie Hobson was pushing for somebody familiar to take over the team. That came to fruition when Mollie’s mom, Kyle Hobson, was named the new head coach a few weeks before the start of the season.

Kyle Hobson, an assistant principal at McHenry, worked with athletic director Chris Madson to find a new coach. When that did not work out, she agreed to step in as coach for a year. Hobson graduated from Harvard in 1993 and played at West Virginia. She coached one season at Harvard and eight at Richmond-Burton.

She has also helped coach some of Mollie’s younger travel teams at VC United in Rockford.

“Obviously, you want somebody who knows the game really well that is going to push the team to be their best,” Mollie Hobson said. “I was like, ‘Please, mom, please coach. I really want you to coach.’ And I think so far it’s been really good.

“Obviously, coach’s kid, there’s a lot of stereotypes that go with that, but if anything, I think she’s harder on me. I think she’s doing a really good job, and I think the girls are responding well to her. It’s just a really fun end to my high school volleyball career.”

Kyle Hobson said it’s been a smooth transition back into coaching.

“It’s been a lot of fun so far,” Kyle Hobson said. “Mollie just wants to win. She’ll do what she needs to do in regards of taking control on the floor. And that’s what we want to see in all of our players.”