Marist outside hitter Maggie Kurpeikis has no problem communicating with setter Maddie Berry.
But she does mix it up during matches.
“She’s always asking for the ball,” Berry said. “But she’ll be like, ‘Set me.’ Or, ‘I got it.’ Or, ‘I’ll find a way to score.’ Or, ‘Trust me.’ I try to reach her the best I can in one-on-one situations.
“And she does her job.”
The 6-foot-1 sophomore had the night of her career Thursday as the host RedHawks toppled Mother McAuley 25-20, 25-17 in the Class 4A Marist Sectional championship match in Chicago.
Kurpeikis finished with a match-high 11 kills for Marist (29-9). Northwestern recruit Bella Bullington came through with eight kills and 11 digs, while Savannah Weathers contributed six kills and eight digs, Berry added 25 assists and 12 digs and Elayna Davidson made 20 digs.
Memphis recruit Sydney Buchanan led Mother McAuley (33-5) with six kills. Abbey Williams tallied four kills, followed by Peyton Heatherly with 16 assists and Lucy Maloney with 15 digs.
Kurpeikis wasn’t at a loss for words to describe how it felt to end McAuley’s run as a two-time defending state champion.
“Oh, it feels awesome,” Kurpeikis said. “The best feeling ever. I was just really excited to play the match. This game is just so much fun. I had a little bit of jitters, but I was ready to go. Just ready to go for it.”
Kurpeikis was the undeniably the match-turner for the RedHawks.
The Mighty Macs led much of the first game and were still in front 17-16 when Kurpeikis landed a kill to tie it up. She added three more kills during the home stretch as the RedHawks pulled away.
In the second game, she had back-to-back kills as Marist opened up a 9-2 lead. McAuley did counterpunch with several points and were within 21-16 when Kurpeikis slammed the door again.
“After I got my first kill, I was just like, ‘OK, just keep going after it, looking to see where the block was and if there was a seam,’” Kurpeikis said. “Bella tells me, ‘Just be you.’ She gave me a lot of confidence going into this.”
Bullington had a great view from the back row. It isn’t often that she doesn’t lead the team in kills, but in this case, she was happy to take it all in.
“That was so awesome to watch,” Bullington said, smiling. “With everything she does, she has this poise about her and this confidence.
“I’ll tell her, ‘Hey, put this ball away like you’ve got it.’ But I know she’s got it. They had a hard time stopping her. She puts so much work in, and she’s such a good kid. Watching that pay off for her is awesome.”
For the season, Kurpeikis has 155 kills and 26 blocks. Those are high numbers considering she missed the beginning with a stress fracture in her back.
“It was something that happened over time,” Kurpeikis said. “When I came back, I just wanted to bring as much to the team as I could.”
She wasn’t lacking in effort to make up for lost time.
“Maggie is the type of person who wants it,” Berry said. “She wants the ball. She wants to be the best she can. If we’re not connecting right away, she’ll stay for a couple more reps after practice, doing everything to where we can feel comfortable together.”
Kurpeikis turned many heads during the match against McAuley. But Marist coach Jordan Vidovic didn’t have to turn his.
“I’m not the least bit surprised,” Vidovic said. “We knew what our matchups would be. We knew what we could take advantage of and when. And we knew her capabilities.
“You might think of the circumstance of her being a sophomore. But I’m thinking of what we know and what we prepare for. She’s been on a steady climb all season long — just like our team — and she’ll continue to get better.”
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
