This is it for Nate Epley.
The senior right-side hitter for Homewood-Flossmoor has been playing volleyball since sixth grade but doesn’t plan on pursuing the sport in college, even though Carthage, his college of choice, is a perennial national power in NCAA Division III.
“I’m going to concentrate on my major, biology,” Epley said. “I want to be a field biologist. My brother (Benjamin) is doing marine chemistry, and I just thought it was fun.
“I like being outside and doing things like that.”
His work inside isn’t too shabby, either.
Epley made sure the Vikings are having a fun first week of the season, finishing with eight kills and two aces Wednesday to help H-F beat host Oak Lawn 25-20, 25-18 in a nonconference matchup.
Junior outside hitter Ahmad Powell added five kills and five aces for the Vikings (3-0), who totaled 10 aces. Tarendran Heyward tallied 15 assists.
Oak Lawn (0-2) was led by Marco Budzak with eight kills and four assists. Jack Dillon had 11 assists.
Epley might be giving up competitive volleyball but he was not done working on his game as he prepared for his final high school season.
“He was one of our top hitters last year, and he’s smart and his passing has improved a ton, which we have really needed,” H-F coach Mark Ciesielski said. “I like his consistency. He doesn’t make many errors.
“Put those things together, and he’s a tough guy to stop.”
He helped improve during the offseason playing club for Frankfort-based Ultimate. During a long family trip to Door County, Wisconsin, he played sand volleyball while working at a grocery store.
“He has great hitting power, and he’s a great server,” Powell said of Epley. “He’s just another strong asset we have.”
The Vikings are on a big upswing as a program. Since finishing third in the state in 1992 and fourth in 1994, they won just one regional title until Ciesielski took over and prevailed in 2021.
H-F, which enters this season coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, is opening the spring with eight matches in six days. The Vikings host their own invitational Friday and Saturday.
On Wednesday, while aces aren’t easy to come by, the Vikings piled them up.
“It’s a weapon we are working on,” Ciesielski said. “We have guys with experience in jumping and just putting pace on the ball, and it’s really helping us out. It makes it difficult for the other teams.”
Powell, for one, was red hot from the service line.
“It’s a lot of offseason work and coaching,” Powell said. “I never have been able to do this consistently before I’ve been on this team. The coaches helped me figure things out.
“You take a deep breath and do the same thing. It’s like a free throw. You have to do the same thing every time until it’s like second nature.”
Oak Lawn, which had a 20-16 record last season and returned with some talented players, have suffered back-to-back losses to Stagg and H-F for a rough start to the spring.
The Vikings’ aces made the Spartans’ night a tough one.
“That got us out of system and we couldn’t get our middles involved at all,” Oak Lawn coach Matthew Hunt said. “That’s the bread-and-butter of our team. We have to get the middles going.”
Epley, meanwhile, was pumped up all night, yelling after big points.
Leaving volleyball will not be easy for him.
“I’m an emotional player,” he said. “I like to bring up the spirit of my teammates, and I love playing this sport. It’s a great sport.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
