Girls volleyball: Brooke Simon provides bright spot as JCA overwhelmed by Mother McAuley in opener

JOLIET – Brooke Simon spent her sophomore season last year alternating between the Joliet Catholic varsity and junior varsity girls volleyball teams.

As a junior this year, Simon knows she will not only get her chance to play every varsity match, but she will be counted on to play a big role as a right-side hitter.

“I just try to help my team,” Simon said. “When we’re in a rut, obviously we want to get out of that rotation, and I’m looking to help with that. I want to help if the team needs a passer or whatever they need that I can do. I’m willing to do anything I can in whatever spot they need me in.”

Simon provided some positive moments Tuesday night during a tough season opener for the Angels. Joliet Catholic, which finished third in the state in Class 3A last season, was overwhelmed by defending Class 4A state champion and national power Mother McAuley, falling 25-6, 25-13 in Joliet.

“Obviously, we knew McAuley was going to be tough, and that’s what we wanted,” Joliet Catholic coach Kisha Cameron said. “That’s why they’re our first opponent every year to show us exactly what we need to do. We got some nerves out of the way, and there’s no better way to challenge yourself than with the defending state champion.”

Simon led the Angels (0-1) with three kills and a block. Junior outside hitters Ellie Blotnik and Olivia Chovanec had two kills each, while junior libero Zoe Girard contributed seven digs in her first match with Joliet Catholic after transferring from Benet.

But Mother McAuley (1-0) had way too much firepower, and Joliet Catholic had trouble handling the Mighty Macs’ serving, as the visitors finished with a whopping 13 aces.

“McAuley was a very aggressive serving team,” Cameron said. “In practice, that’s different. You could see the points adding up in their favor on the scoreboard.”

Simon came up with back-to-back kills to calm the Angels down a little bit after they went down 11-1 in the opening set.

“I’m just proud that I can get the trust in my teammates and keep it, so they know they can get me the ball and I can do something with it to help the team,” Simon said.

Simon has made the transition from outside hitter to the right side this season.

“The biggest challenge is blocking,” she said. “I’m obviously not the tallest person (5-foot-9), and I have to work on timing, getting to the right spot. That’s something I have to work on in practice every day and key into.”

Setter Jess Horn, the lone senior on the Joliet Catholic roster, has been impressed by Simon’s ability to succeed in a new role.

“She’s definitely been stepping up, adjusting to things and keeping up different tempos and working on different types of sets,” Horn said. “She was mainly an outside last year and having her transition to the right-side has definitely been an adjustment, but that’s something we’ve definitely been working on.

“I think if we can really capitalize on where we’re seeing her improve, we’ll definitely capitalize in other ways, too.”

Horn hopes to lead her team to a turnaround in Wednesday’s match against St. Laurence.

“I’m kind of like the grandma of the team, so it’s taking care of my girls and regrouping for the next day,” she said. “It’s going to be about readjusting and getting the girls in the mindset to go again.”

The 25-6 opener was a tough pill to swallow for the Angels, who were more competitive in the second set.

“I think a wake-up call is a good way to put it,” Cameron said. “You get to that point where you’ve practiced and practiced and practiced. You need to have a game. Even at practice, there were some things that weren’t going exactly the way we wanted them to, but we knew we needed a game.

“Nobody feels good about what happened [Tuesday] in front of our home crowd. It definitely gave us an awakening, and I think they’re going to be remembering this for a while.”