Shepard’s Jenna Powers puts two personalities on display.
Most of the time, the sophomore outside hitter is pretty quiet and doesn’t say much. But if you get her on a volleyball court?
“At the beginning of the year, she set her individual goal to be the loudest girl on the team,” Astros coach Caroline Graham said of Powers. “She’s always talking. If you notice on serve receive, she is always talking to her back row players.
“Even if we’re down, she’s always talking and has a great consistent energy.”
The 5-foot-5 Powers, who lives up to her last name, also makes some loud noises hitting the ball.
In her first postseason varsity start, Powers came up with six kills and added a pair of aces Tuesday night as Shepard rolled past Reavis 25-11, 25-18 in the Class 4A Thornwood Regional semifinals in South Holland.
Sophie Sheehan added five kills for the Astros (24-12). Lexi Jensen contributed a solo block and assisted on three others. Grace McGlynn tallied three straight aces in the first game.
Alexa Pena Flores, Weronika Kurnat and Lily Fish each had three kills for Reavis (13-18).
Shepard will try to win its first regional title since 1992 when it takes on Lincoln-Way East (31-5) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the championship match.
The second-seeded Griffins, who are seeking their third straight regional title, ended up beating Thornwood 25-15, 25-12 in the other semifinal. Tori Tagler had 11 assists and Brooklyn Ritter added seven. Tamia Maddox, Klarke Mosby, Cami Geiger and Alaina Pollard each had four kills.
Powers, meanwhile, surprises a lot of people who know her when they see her chatting on the court.
“It’s a shock to some people,” Powers said. “We were at Lake Forest and I didn’t talk at all, and someone asked who the loudest person on the team was and they (teammates) all pointed at me. And she said, ‘You’re the loudest on the team?’
“I really try to talk and to communicate and let everyone know what’s going on on the court. Last year, when they moved me up to JV, I didn’t know a lot of the players, so I had to talk as much as I could to get to know the girls.”
One of the people she got to know was junior setter Sarah Egan. The two proved to be a successful combination in 2023, and it has been more of the same in 2024.
“I just grew from our JV season,” Egan said. “We have that setter-outside connection and I have seen her progress her whole freshman year and sophomore year.
“I can’t wait to see what she does in the next two years.”
Egan had a pair of aces against Reavis as the Astros racked up 10 for the match, and they will need sharp serving going up against a powerhouse in Lincoln-Way East.
“We’ve been serving great in practice and we’re concentrating on aggressive serves,” Egan said. “Serving can make or break a good team.”
Powers hasn’t taken a break since she started playing volleyball in a park district league in Oak Lawn. She said she got the hang of it right away.
She started playing club when she was 12 but isn’t sure if she will continue or not in college. But she does know that she loves the sport and wants to keep playing as long as she can.
“I played soccer first and then I decided it wasn’t for me,” she said. “I tried volleyball and I really liked it. I love the connections you make, and I love playing and putting my heart out into it.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
