Naperville Central’s Georgia Von Lehmden was still grinning 10 minutes after the match on Thursday.
The San Jose State commit has had many great performances over her three varsity seasons. But this was Taylor Swift-level exciting.
“That was fun,” she said. “I enjoyed every second of that.”
So did Von Lehmden’s teammates and Naperville Central’s fans. The 6-foot-1 senior right-side hitter delivered 12 kills while making only one hitting error and added six digs to lead the visiting Redhawks to a 25-22, 25-23 sweep of crosstown rival Naperville North on Thursday.
“It is my senior year, and I want to live big,” Von Lehmden said. “I was all in on this game, and I knew that it was going to be loud, playing at their home, and it was going to be intense, and so we would get tired and we had to push through it.
“That’s what we did. We scrapped for every single ball.”
The Redhawks (8-8, 2-0) had to do that because the Huskies (6-6, 1-1) put on the pressure after a late rally in the first set fell just short.
Fueled by senior outside hitter Bella Fleurima’s eight kills, Naperville North jumped out to leads of 10-4 and 12-7 in the second set.
But a kill by senior outside hitter Makenna Devick got the Redhawks untracked, and Von Lehmden went to work, shredding Naperville North’s defense down the line and even from the middle as senior setter Sarah Butler started looking for her at every opportunity.
“We’re working really hard on trying to mix up our offense so we don’t really have a one-dimensional offense,” Devick said. “We were really able to figure that out tonight, moving our blockers around, and it opened up for Georgia to just go in and kill the ball, which she did repetitively.
“She’s a great hitter. Tonight, she was lights-out. It was an amazing game for her, and I was proud of her for that.”
Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson said the Redhawks relied too heavily on Von Lehmden and Devick in earlier matches, but that wasn’t the case Thursday. Junior outside hitter Caroline Impey had seven kills, while Devick and sophomore middle blocker Annabelle Kritzer each had three. Butler recorded 22 assists, 12 service points, eight digs and four aces.
“Once we were able to get more attackers involved, she’s come alive,” Isaacson said of Von Lehmden, who had three kills down the stretch, including one that brought the Redhawks to match point. “Tonight, she had an excellent night.
“She saw the court well. She hit great shots. Sarah set her some great balls. So we were able to get her in a better situation because we were able to run a balanced offense.”
Von Lehmden was in such a groove that she wanted the ball on every play and not just when it came time to hit.
“Absolutely, I wanted the ball and to help my teammates however I could, whether it was running down the ball or getting a dig,” Von Lehmden said. “Everything I could do to get the ball up, I was all for, and there is no one I trust more than my teammates.
“When we got down, we didn’t stop trusting each other, which was most important. We trusted one another to deliver, and here we are.”
Von Lehmden is on a roll at least partly because she has become a student of the game.
“Overall, my skills have stayed constant throughout my three years, but it’s my IQ for the game that’s enhanced, in where to tip the ball and where to put the free ball,” she said. “The hitting part, the heavy arm, that’s just who I’ve always been. But it’s where you place it.
“I had line open all game, so I just pounded the line. Then they started blocking the line, so I would swing in the middle. The IQ of the game I think is really important. My technique is the same, though.”
As is her work ethic.
“The cool part about Georgia is she’s the first one in and she’s the last one out every day,” Isaacson said. “Regardless of the day she’s having, she’s a great teammate, always gives her best effort, so when you have those qualities, you just keep getting better and better.
“I’ve seen her grow exponentially. I can’t imagine, with her work ethic and the things that she does, what she’ll look like in another four years.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.