Soon after she found out that she made the varsity volleyball team, freshman middle hitter Chyla Jukes sent Mother McAuley coach Jen DeJarld an email.
It kind of took DeJarld by surprise.
“It was at 2 o’clock before practice,” DeJarld said. “I was like, ‘Oh, no. Is she going to be late? Is she worried about being on varsity so young?’”
Nope.
“I just wanted to thank coach and tell her how hard I’m going to work to earn my spot,” Jukes said. “I don’t expect to be handed anything. And I want to work for everything she gives me. I was grateful.”
Jukes continued to reward DeJarld on Wednesday night, starting and making an impact for the host Mighty Macs in a 25-17, 25-18 non-conference victory over Sandburg in Chicago.
Campbell recruit Cayla Prohaska totaled nine kills and two aces for McAuley (8-0). Coastal Carolina commit Peyton Heatherly added 20 assists and three kills, while Clemson recruit Lucy Maloney made seven digs.
Aubrey Deverick led Sandburg (2-7) with seven kills. Marilena Karbo handed out 14 assists, while Indiana-Indianapolis recruit Morgan Begley added 11 digs.
The 5-foot-11 Jukes played in the first game and came up with three kills, two blocks and an assist. Her first kill was a straight-down blast on a quick set from Heatherly.
For the season, Jukes has 28 kills and eight blocks. She’s making good on her opportunities.
She made her first appearance in the season opener against Joliet Catholic. On her first rally, she delivered a block. And not just a regular block.
“It was a big block,” DeJarld said, smiling. “Chyla has hang time like no other. She hit an overpass last weekend at a tournament and bounced the ball before the 10-foot line. There are days where I’ve seen her do things and I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s really elevated for a player her age.’”
Jukes, a Hyde Park resident, is only 13 years old. It happened because she was so elevated intellectually as a child, she was enrolled in kindergarten a year early. Through her years in a grammar school at Daystar Academy, she developed into quite an athlete.
At age 11, she could touch the rim in basketball. She was no stranger to the volleyball girls from McAuley who played club at First Alliance.
“I’d seen her around at club and watched her grow up,” Heatherly said. “When she came to First Alliance, I started watching her and wanted her to come to McAuley. I was like, ‘Come on, come on.’”
They’ve already made a solid setter-hitter connection in the front row. And that’s not all Jukes brings to the table.
“Oh yeah, she’s a very big attacker,” Heatherly said. “But also, her blocking I think is really helpful. Even if it’s not a straight down block, she’s getting good touches for us.
“I’m very able to run her on different things. Having her to spread out my offense has been very helpful.”
Heatherly, in turn, helped Jukes with her transition from eighth grade to McAuley’s varsity. She had been there and done that.
“Actually, the first tryout I had, I texted Peyton to tell her how scared I was,” Jukes said, laughing. “I thought I didn’t do my best. But she told me how I did good.
“Whenever I need something, she’s always there for me.”
That reach-the-rim business? Jukes dabbled in basketball in grammar school before deciding to concentrate on volleyball.
One of her major influences was another player who starred at McAuley as a freshman — Ellie White, who’s now a sophomore standout at Michigan.
“I liked her perseverance,” Jukes said. “She’d just keep going, keep scoring. She was a very consistent hitter. She was also a very nice person outside of the volleyball court, which was a really big thing to me.”
Jukes put it in writing that she wants to be the same.
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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