Morgan Kozlowski had two big requests for Lincoln-Way Central coach Mary Brown before the beginning of her junior season.
She wanted to start at outside hitter. And she wanted to play all six rotations.
The first one was pretty much a lock, but the second offered no assurances.
“I had to explain to her that her passing and defense needed to be better,” Brown said. “She needed to be more consistent. And all summer, she worked really hard.
“She would ask me, ‘Am I doing this right? Am I doing this wrong?’ She just improved. And she just keeps getting better at every practice.”
She was the best player on the floor Monday for the host Knights in a 25-14, 21-25, 25-11 nonconference victory over Crete-Monee in New Lenox.
Kozlowski had 12 kills, five aces and five digs for Lincoln-Way Central (4-5). Mya Donnelly added six kills, while Kaitlyn Hedrich contributed 26 assists and Ava Birmingham made 15 digs.
Alexis Wieczorek contributed five kills for Crete-Monee (4-3). Tamaya Hall had five blocks.
After the stunning loss in the second game, Kozlowski came to life for the Knights.
At the outset, she sent a dart that landed just inside the back line for a kill. A bit later, she added another from the back row for a side out, following that up with a slam off of a double block.
She also helped the Knights pull away with three straight aces. She was definitely motivated.
“It was losing,” Kozlowski said, smiling. “I hate losing. I don’t think anyone likes losing, but when we drop a set, it makes me want to play 10 times better than I did.
“The adrenaline rush I get from a third set doesn’t compare to anything else. I’ll get a couple of swings in and then go from there.”
Kozlowski was also mega motivated by her part-time role on the varsity as a sophomore. Her determination to be a better defender caused her to make a pretty big decision during club.
“I really worked on my defense,” Kozlowski said. “I even asked if I could play back row a couple of times. I wanted to make sure I could make my back row best as possible for school season.
“All that work really paid off, and now I’m playing all six.”
Offensively, Kozlowski leads the Knights this season with 64 kills. Her 49 digs puts her second on the team behind Birmingham.
When Kozlowski wants the ball, Hedrich doesn’t hesitate to feed it to her.
“I mean, I trust her with every set,” Hedrich said. “Every ball I get, I try to spread it out. But I know that she will always put a ball away for our team.
“If it’s a long rally, I can trust her with every set I give her. And if it’s a bad set, I know she’ll do something with it that messes up the other team.”
Senior defensive specialist Lily Vargas likes the cheering component.
“Oh, I love having her on the court,” Vargas said. “She’s a ball of energy. She’s always hyping everyone up and getting excited. And her confidence … she knows if she makes a mistake, she’s going to get that next ball and make up for it.”
Kozlowski is a second-generation volleyball player. Her mother, Katie, played in high school for Lincoln-Way. She played in college at Illinois State and later at St. Francis in Joliet.
Her uncle, Carmen Pignatiello, played baseball at Providence and was with the Chicago Cubs in 2007 and 2008.
But mom is at the top of her heart chart.
“Oh, my mom is my motivation to play,” Kozlowski said. “My mom is the sole reason I play volleyball. I do everything for my mom.
“She’s my No. 1 supporter, and I could never thank her for everything she’s done for me.”
Playing six rotations is one pretty good way.
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
