Naperville North senior Heidi Mick knew this season would be the last one of her volleyball career, so she wanted to leave her best for last.
Nobody had any idea just how good her best would be.
“Heidi has developed so much over the last year,” Naperville North coach Jennifer Urban said. “She started off the season as a middle for us, and then we needed her to get more attempts, so we moved her to the right side.
“She started playing three rotations as a right-side, and now she doesn’t come off the floor. She plays front row, back row, she swings out of the back row for us, she’s one of our top servers and defenders. She’s had matches where she’s led the team in digs.”
The 5-foot-10 Mick led the Huskies to a rousing 25-21, 25-11 DuPage Valley Conference victory against Neuqua Valley in Naperville on Thursday. She had 12 kills, twice as many as anyone else, and added a block and an ace.
It was a senior night performance to remember for a player who has vastly exceeded her expectations.
“It’s great,” Mick said. “If you had told me at the beginning of the season that this is where I’d be right now, I would not believe you.
“Every day, I just put in more and more hard work because I just want to do the best that I can for my team. I just want to help them every match, and if that means that I’m playing half the time, all the time, I don’t even care. I just want to do the best that I can so that we can keep winning.”
Mick had played middle hitter throughout her career until playing right-side hitter during her last club season. The Huskies (20-15, 6-4) used her in the middle again at the beginning of this season, which was fine with her.
“Coach Urban really wanted me to play middle because she thought I would be a really strong asset in the middle, and I totally agreed because I just wanted the playing time,” Mick said. “I just want to be on the court. I don’t care what position I play.”
That attitude proved useful when Urban had Mick switch positions midway through the season.
“We moved her during the first round of conference play to the right side because she was so efficient and we wanted to spread our offense more pin to pin,” Urban said. “She’s been doing such a fantastic job.
“She’s one of our hardest workers, she’s a captain, she holds herself to a really high standard and she’s a great model for our whole program.”
Mick has a team-high 45 blocks and has 157 kills, which puts her third on the team behind sophomore outside hitter Joelle Pye-Blacknard and senior outside hitter Bella Fleurima. Mick also has 115 digs and 21 aces.
“She just tries super hard, and she wants her team to be the best that it can be, so I think it’s her hard work,” Naperville North sophomore setter Grace Anderson said. “She’s honestly such a great hitter, and she’s such a great leader. I love her.”
Anderson loves having hitters she can rely on like Mick, who loves getting the ball.
“I always want the ball, yes,” Mick said. “I go all out. Every time, I’m calling for it.”
Neuqua Valley (5-27, 1-9) led 12-11 in the opening set Thursday. Anderson heard a familiar voice yelling and fed Mick for back-to-back kills, and the Huskies didn’t trail again.
Mick finished with a flourish, recording five kills and a block over the final 12 points, including the clinching kill. It was a fitting way for the Huskies, who host rival Naperville Central in the Class 4A regional semifinals on Tuesday, to end the regular season.
“For us, this means so much,” Mick said. “It’s always good to have another home win, and that was just a really strong win for us. We were totally in control of the match, and it’s really nice to kind of have that confidence going into postseason.
“We’ve lost to Central twice, but I think this gives us the confidence that we need to be able to fight against them, and hopefully we can win that match.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
