Waubonsie Valley’s Kaitlyn Reinhard is having a moment, but she’s not getting too excited about it.
The senior outside hitter is using a newfound calmness under pressure to boost a team on the rise.
“She’s just like ultrafocused,” Waubonsie Valley coach Kari Galen said. “When she’s getting ready for the game and she’s out there on the court, you can tell she’s focused. She’s not thinking about the distractions around her. She does a great job with that.”
Reinhard was a steady presence for the Warriors throughout their DuPage Valley Conference match against visiting Naperville North in Aurora on Thursday. She proved unflappable during a first set that was tight until the Warriors pulled away late and didn’t panic when they held off a furious rally in the second set to close out a 25-16, 25-22 victory.
Reinhard finished with a team-high eight kills, tying Naperville North senior outside hitter Bella Fleurima for the match high. Reinhard also had six digs and four service points, including the match clincher.
“We know she’s just always so consistent and reliable,” Waubonsie Valley junior setter Liv O’Hara said. “We know we can go to her if we need help or if we need to get a ball down.
“She’s smart with it. She knows where to put the ball if we need to get a point.”
That was the case when the Warriors (10-9, 2-2) were clinging to a 16-14 lead in the opening set. A block by sophomore middle hitter Kathryn Travis started a closing 9-2 run. Reinhard landed five kills during that stretch, including the final two of the set.
Reinhard might not have the athleticism of senior right-side hitter Naomi Dowd, a Northern Illinois commit who had six kills against the Huskies (10-9, 1-3). But Reinhard always has a plan.
“With Kate, one thing is that she’s always kind of reflecting on the things she’s doing on the court,” Galen said. “We’ll go into a timeout, and we’ll say, ‘Hey, we need to hit a line shot.’ She gets set that ball, and she’s going to try to hit that line shot, and she can.
“So she’s someone we can really look to as far as having a game plan and knowing that she can execute it.”
Technique and tenacity are Reinhard’s best attributes.
“My strength is kind of staying calm and being able to know where the ball should go,” she said. “Like if I see the block, I can go between it or over it.”
Many of Waubonsie Valley’s players are getting better at that.
“Now that we’re mostly all seniors, we know where to put the ball,” Reinhard said. “It doesn’t have to be a 10-foot-line kill every time, but we can be smart about it.”
Still, that doesn’t completely explain Reinhard’s demeanor on the court. It’s one thing to know where to hit a ball during a practice or a match that’s not in doubt, but it’s quite another to do that in a close contest with fans from both teams screaming at you.
How does Reinhard do it?
“It has taken me a while to stay calm,” she said. “I’d say this is my first season I’ve really tried to be locked about it. I think a lot of training has helped me to mature to be calm. Before the games, as a team we’ve been trying to visualize what we want to do.”
Reinhard said she probably will not continue her career in college. So she wants to savor the rest of the season while leading the Warriors to their first winning record since 2019.
“It kind of feels unreal that it’s finally my last year,” Reinhard said. “I’m just trying to have fun playing with my teammates that I’ve been playing with for four years now.
“We’ve had the same core group for a while now since sophomore year. We’ve been building, and our connections have been getting better, and I think that really helps because we go for every ball and we trust each other.”
O’Hara definitely trusts Reinhard.
“She has a lot of wisdom,” O’Hara said. “She has seniority on the court, which brings a lot to our team.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
