Oak Lawn senior Amina Maali was pretty brash as a younger kid. And she’ll tell you about it.
Even as a freshman, she thought she was the best outside hitter since … well, she thought she was pretty good.
“When I came in, I thought I was a stud, for sure,” Maali said, laughing. “I don’t know where that came from because in the club season before I played libero. I definitely had to find my place a little bit.”
It led to a really incredible turn of events, helping not only shape her volleyball career but that of a teammate.
Maali was a confident leader for the Spartans when they needed one Tuesday night in a 25-17, 25-18 victory over host Oak Forest in a South Suburban Conference crossover match.
Hailey Wierzgac led Oak Lawn (20-3, 9-1 SSC Red) with 10 kills and two blocks. Kaitlyn Berkery had five kills and two aces. Kasey Thompson added 24 assists, while Emma McAuliffe contributed 11 digs and five aces and Sinead Conroy chipped in with seven digs and three kills.
Zoey Aldarondo had four kills for Oak Forest (13-9, 6-5 SSC Blue). Layla Nesby added one kill and one block.
Maali, a 5-foot-5 outside hitter, finished with 10 digs, two kills and four service points for Oak Lawn. Her contributions on the hitting side were momentum-changing.
The Spartans struggled through the first half of the first game and trailed 12-10 when she earned a side out with a kill through a double block. It was 15-15 when Maali, from the back row, put a line shot down the middle of the court for a kill.
That play lit a spark that resulted in a 6-1 run, putting the Spartans in charge.
“It was just a sense of urgency that we needed,” Maali said. “There is never a time where we doubt any one of each other. We all just played as a team and did what needed to be done.”
Maali’s wake-up call as a freshman came pretty quickly, and it came from Oak Lawn coach Kathleen Miller. It had nothing to do with talent.
“Oh, no, we actually knew the first 20 minutes she was at our camp that she’d be making an impact on the varsity,” Miller said. “She started out the first couple of matches at outside hitter, but she was hitting negative. So we decided to train her as a libero, and she did well.”
She certainly did as a leader for the defense with 229 digs and 371 good serve receives.
The following season, Maali was ready to rock at libero when another change came her way. Outside hitter Katelyn Dillon, who broke the program record for single-season kills as a junior, was lost to an injury before the first match.
Maali was put back at outside hitter, while McAuliffe was installed as the starting libero as a sophomore.
What happened next was truly amazing.
Maali hit with authority, putting down 160 kills and adding 45 aces. McAuliffe, meanwhile, broke the single-season program record for digs.
“I knew I needed to step up and be a leader,” Maali said. “When coach Miller threw me on the outside, I just felt I needed to own it.”
McAuliffe’s feat was, in a word …
“Crazy,” McAuliffe said. “Going into my sophomore year was really scary because I wasn’t expecting to be the starting libero. I was really nervous. But Amina was always there helping me.
“When I broke the record, it was such a surprise. All of my work was worth something.”
McAuliffe now holds the all-time program record for career digs at Oak Lawn. Maali will end her career as a four-year varsity leader.
It all worked out — and then some.
“I’ll do whatever is best for the team,” Maali said. “And I’m very proud of Emily. She’s truly amazing.”
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
