Sinead Conroy is not bashful about admitting, as a sophomore, she was Oak Lawn’s worst server.
Her serving drove her to tears on more than one occasion. And it was becoming a habit.
“That happened, 100%,” she said of crying because of her serves. “There was a Shepard game, and I was off the court after serving. Coach said to me, ‘Dude, do not cry right now. We need you.’
“I sucked it up and we moved on, and we ended up winning that game. But it got to the point where I didn’t want to serve anymore and disappoint my team. It made me feel guilty.”
Who would have guessed that two years later, the player who said she would “throw garbage over the net” would nail four straight aces in a huge South Suburban Red showdown?
Not Conroy.
“Absolutely not, absolutely not,” she said. “I would have said, ‘You’re dreaming, kid.’’’
But Conroy was living the dream Thursday night.
The senior right-side hitter delivered four aces in a row in the second game of a 25-19, 25-10 victory over host Evergreen Park, putting the Spartans in the driver’s seat for a conference title.
The 5-foot-8 Conroy added two aces in the first game and finished with four kills for the Spartans (26-4, 11-1). Senior middle hitter Hailey Wierzgac, a Carthage recruit, came through with six kills and Kaitlyn Berkery added four.
Tess Lee landed three aces for Evergreen Park (21-5, 10-2), which had an 11-match winning streak halted. Fiona Buchanan added three kills and Neve Hayes had eight assists.
So, how did Conroy go from a subpar server to someone who is now dangerous behind the line?
“It was the mental aspect of it,” she said. “I have a checklist in my mind — are my feet right, is my toss OK? It’s keeping the mental part of it positive.
“Before, I would wing it, and sometimes it would hit the back wall. I would wing it and just throw garbage over the net.”
That was serving. Hitting was another story as she was brought up to the varsity late in her freshman season and has been a mainstay in the front row ever since.
For most of her Oak Lawn career, Conroy was an undersized middle. She played occasionally on in club, and this season moved to the right side for coach Kathleen Miller.
“We wanted her to play six rotations because she has an intensity that’s just unmatched,” Miller said of Conroy. “She brings a lot of energy and has a competitive mindset, and we wanted that on the court for all of the rotations.
“She’s so flexible and can play anywhere. She wants to be on the court. She was the type of kid who last year was frustrated when she came out and had to sit on the bench. She was excited and up for the challenge.”
Wierzgac is excited to see Conroy playing all over the court.
“She gets so fired up, especially in a game like this,” Wierzgac said. “She’s a great player.”
Conroy, who is still searching for a college and recently visited Concordia-Wisconsin, set the tone right away that Thursday could be her night.
On the first play, an Evergreen Park kill attempt was dug up and the ball hit the ceiling and fell quickly.
With her back to the net and in the back row, Conroy stuck her arm out and sent the ball back to Evergreen Park’s side and it dropped in for an accidental kill.
“It was just instinct,” Conroy said of the play. “It was just go, go, go and get it over. You just can’t give up on a ball like that.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
