It won’t be long before Shepard’s Olivia Wal will be saying goodbye to volleyball.
The 5-foot-7 right-side hitter is finishing up her senior season for the Astros, and after playing club this winter, she’ll sink her teeth into studying for a future in dentistry.
Wal has spent part of her high school days doing charity work, so putting a smile on peoples’ faces will be nothing new.
“Especially for the career in dentistry, for me, it’s just to make people more confident about themselves,” Wal said. “Just helping people out makes my heart feel good.”
Wal had everyone around her smiling brightly Tuesday night after helping lead Shepard to a 25-19, 25-21 victory over Oak Lawn in a Class 4A Mother McAuley Regional semifinal game.
Millikin commit Parker Crims paced the offense with eight kills for the Astros (26-9). Wal added five kills and four digs, while Brooke Butvilas contributed eight digs and Sarah Egan tallied 17 assists.
Maryam Hussein finished with 19 kills for Oak Lawn (22-10). Maggie Mitchell added 12 digs, while Kasey Thompson contributed 23 assists and six digs.
Shepard will play Mother McAuley (32-4) at 6 p.m. Thursday for the regional title. The Mighty Macs defeated Lindblom 25-6, 25-4 in the other semifinal.
Wal, meanwhile, was determined to leave her imprint all over Tuesday’s win.
“I definitely was,” Wal said. “I really want to play more and I want to make it farther — as far as we can in the playoffs. We all really just played our all, gave it our all.”
In the first game, Wal came up with the first kill and then put down an ace during a service run that gave the Astros separation they never lost.
In the second game, she broke a 19-19 tie with a tip kill and then added another one as Shepard closed out the match.
The reward? Her first match against McAuley since her sophomore season. She won’t be shy.
“It’s definitely a fun way to go,” Wal said, smiling. “We’ll be playing our hardest against a very good team.”
This also has been a season like no other for Wal.
Throughout her career, she has been a three-rotation player. In club, she plays front row only. At Shepard, she played back row only until new Astros coach Tess Rybowiak saw her in the summer.
“I immediately noticed her attention to detail and wanting to go do the job,” Rybowiak said. “That’s how she earned it. You don’t typically have a six-rotation opposite, but she found a way to get digs in hard places.
“I think with me coming in with fresh eyes and not knowing of past things was helpful. We just did a lot of drills that involved all skills. She kind of picked that up, where we put her in (different) situations, and she proved herself.”
Wal not only developed into more of an overall contributor, she also became a team leader in bringing the best out of others.
Junior middle hitter Kate Sheehan didn’t have to wait long before getting a shot of confidence.
“She was actually the one senior who made me really feel ‘in’ the team,” Sheehan said of Wal. “She made me feel welcome. When I’d make a mistakes, she’d help me get past it.
“And one thing about Olivia is that whenever the ball is set to her, I feel relief. She’s so reliable in getting the kill.”
Saying goodbye will be tough as well for Wal.
“Volleyball has been my life, my world, for about five or six years,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of new friends that I’ll probably have for life.
“This sport has taught me about teamwork, managing time, dedication and how hard work will pay off. I’ll miss this sport very much.”
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
