Freshman middle hitter Brynn Hopkins makes things look easy for St. Charles North.
The North Stars entered the season with an experienced roster that was ready to make a big move. How would a group like that incorporate a first-year varsity player into the mix?
All that Hopkins has done is make an instant impact
“It’s cool,” she said. “I was not expecting it. It’s so fun. All the girls are so kind and helping me.”
Hopkins helped out Wednesday night in a 25-19, 25-21 nonconference win over previously unbeaten Oswego. She had three kills in the first game and a big block at the start of the second.
Penn State recruit Haley Burgdorf was her usual dominant self for St. Charles North North (14-3), picking up a match-high 13 kills and two aces. Amber Czerniak added four kills.
Long Beach State recruit Sidney Hamaker paced Oswego (8-1) with nine kills. Western Michigan commit Mia Jurkovic added five kills.
North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins has been impressed with the ease shown by Hopkins in adjusting to the varsity level at such a young age.
“You wouldn’t be able to tell that she’s a freshman,” said Hawkins, who won her 400th career match Tuesday at Batavia. “The speed of the game isn’t too fast for her.
“She’s fitting in so nicely and offering us another option.”
Hawkins was complimentary toward the 6-foot Hopkins for her early kills in the first game, which helped the North Stars jump out to an 8-1 lead and take command of the match.
“We set her twice and their middles were biting hard on her and allowing Haley to be open a little bit more,” Hawkins said. “That was really nice. We want to get more people involved.
“Haley is for sure going to get her kills. She’s amazing. We need to get other people involved so that further down the road we can be stronger.”
Hopkins is happy to have Burgdorf on her side. As a young player with lofty aspirations, Hopkins gets to learn from one of the best players in the state on a daily basis.
It’s something she doesn’t take for granted.
“In practice, she’s always giving me tips and always encouraging me,” Hopkins said of Burgdorf. “She’s a very good leader and very good to look up to. She’s really helped me by knowing where to block and trying to shut down their (Division I) players.”
Even Oswego coach Gary Mosley couldn’t help but praise Burgdorf after the loss.
“She’s fun to watch,” Mosley said. “You know what you’re dealing with. You talk about it and you accept the fact that she’s going to eat. You just have to minimize what’s on the plate.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that.”
Oswego finished the first game strong and went toe-to-toe with St. Charles North early in the second before a series of errors by the Panthers allowed the North Stars to pull away for the win.
Mosley hopes his team picked up some lessons playing against one of the area’s best teams.
“There are some things we did well and some things we didn’t do well,” Mosley said. “That’s a team where you have to meet the moment. We’ll learn from this one and get better from it.”
Hawkins, meanwhile, has a vision for Hopkins’ future. How about moving her to outside hitter to pair next season with Burgdorf?
“We thought about doing that, but she just fit so naturally in the middle for us we couldn’t do that,” Hawkins said. “She is such a good athlete.”
For now, Hopkins is content fitting in where she is on a team with high expectations. She’s intrigued with the idea of switching positions down the road, however.
“I’ve been playing middle my whole career,” Hopkins said. “I think the pin would be very fun and would be a good transition for me in the future.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
