Lincoln-Way Central’s Kaitlyn Hedrich knows her address for the next four years.
The senior setter/right-side hitter has committed to Gettysburg, an NCAA Division III program in Pennsylvania. And in this day and age, she took an unconventional approach to recruiting.
Hedrich didn’t settle for that level — she was seeking it out.
“I contacted a bunch of D-III schools because I wanted to go D-III,” Hedrich said. “My brother went through recruiting a few years before me and he went D-III.”
Her brother, Tyler, played lacrosse in college at Carthage. Kaitlyn liked the Division III philosophy, where not as much time is demanded from athletes as opposed to expectations at bigger schools.
“I want to make the most of my college experience,” she said. “I want to study abroad. I want to be in a sorority. I just want to do everything that I can and play volleyball, too.
“It’s obviously something I love doing and I want to keep doing it as long as I possibly can.”
The 5-foot-9 Hedrich did as much as she possibly could on the court Tuesday night for the Knights in a 25-19, 25-19 SouthWest Suburban Conference over host Andrew in Tinley Park.
Hedrich, who wants to major in political science, set up her hitters with regularity and had four kills for Lincoln-Way Central (15-6, 1-2), including three on dumps. She also played tough defense.
Sophomore outside hitter Mya Donnelly added six kills for the Knights, while Avery Lapetino came through with five and Penny Smith chipped in with four.
Kodi Campbell tallied four kills and three blocks and Avery Seams had four kills for Andrew (10-10, 1-2), which played even for the first 30 points of the first game and trailed 16-13 in the second.
Lincoln-Way Central coach Amy Bernhard, meanwhile, praised Hedrich’s all-around ability.
“She’s pretty smart and mixes up the sets really well,” Bernhard said of Hedrich. “She plays front row, so she can get some touches on blocks and she’s been doing well for us.”
Sometimes, setters will use the dump as a way to cross up the defense, and every once in awhile, it even works. It worked three times against the Thunderbolts.
Both Bernhard and Hedrich agreed that she relies on that play perhaps a little too much, but it’s an option Hedrich remains fond of using.
“I dump a lot and sometimes I can be a little too predictable,” she said. “I know when I’m at the net, I can just tell what’s open, and if it’s open, I go there a lot.
“It rattles the other team and it’s an easy point.”
Donnelly, who is playing in her second year on varsity, appreciates Hedrich and the other players welcoming her and showing her the ropes. And Hedrich gets the ball to Donnelly pretty well, too.
“She’s the best setter ever,” Donnelly said of Hedrich. “I definitely love how fast our offense is, and she give me the best sets.”
Lincoln-Way Central has had an interesting season, opening with a 2-3 record before going on an eight-match winning streak. But the Knights have gone 5-4 since, including conference losses last week to district rivals Lincoln-Way West and Lincoln-Way East.
Optimism, though, is still high that the Knights can finish strong.
“We have a lot of potential,” Donnelly said. “We definitely had a dip in the middle, but we’ve come back from that.”
According to Hedrich, it’s been better all across the board for the Knights.
“From the preseason, we have improved a lot,” she said. “We’ve gotten better with our hitting, passing — everything. Our blocking has gotten so much better. Everyone wants it.
“We played well against East, and West wasn’t out best game, but hopefully, we see them again.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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