Girls volleyball: Metea Valley's 'special player'

Four years ago Mikaila Dowd was a highly touted club player hoping to make a name for herself on the Metea Valley volleyball court.

Mustangs coach Dave Macdonald was a little skeptical at first, however, wondering if maybe some of the things he had heard about her talents and athleticism may have been exaggerated. It didn't take long for Dowd to show off her skills, and over the last four seasons at the Aurora high school, all she has done is keep getting better and keep improving the program.

"I talked about this when she came in as a freshman; you hear about a 6-foot girl coming in that can touch about 9-foot-8 to 10 feet," Macdonald says. "As a freshman I'm like, I don't believe it until I see it. But she walked in the gym as a freshman and we moved her up right away, just to see how she could hang."

As a senior Dowd played well enough to be the Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area girls volleyball team captain.

She belongs

It took a while for Dowd to prove to herself she belonged on the Metea Valley varsity.

"It's funny, if you talk to her it was like she just hoped to make JV or sophomores, and she's up on varsity right away and making a big impact on that team," he said. "And that was the year we almost beat a Geneva team when they were starting to become real good with their two outsides. We took them to three and lost in the regional semis."

The veteran Sports Performance player - who comes from a family of athletes - played right side for Metea Valley as a freshman and a sophomore before turning into one of the top outsides around the last two years. While she was turning into an attacking threat who teams had to game plan for the last two seasons, the Mustangs were turning into a team that more established programs had to be weary of facing.

In 2016 Dowd blasted more than 300 kills and helped the Mustangs set a school record with 25 wins. This year the Georgia Tech-bound senior was even better, breaking her own season record of kills with 328 and surpassing the 1,000-kill total in her team's final match of the year, a tough, three-set loss to Naperville North in last week's regional finals.

As a refresher, Dowd and four other returning seniors (Metea Valley had 12 seniors all told on the roster) went a perfect 8-0 for the Mustangs' first DVC title, setting a school record with 29 wins. Dowd had 96 kills in conference play, averaging more than 10 a match in one of the stronger leagues in the state.

The college process

Picking a college to play at was anything but easy.

"In my sophomore year I decided on Georgia Tech in March," said Dowd, who will enroll at the university early to get better acclimated to the life of college classes and athletics. "I started my recruiting process right after eighth grade and it was such a long process.

"People talked to me and they were like, 'You're so lucky. It's so easy for you.' But I'm telling them that they are doing now what I did in eighth grade and as a freshman. It's the same process. Over 1,500 people were calling me or texting me and sending me letters."

Macdonald has had an up-close view of his star's development, and he knew that her senior season would be a special one with a strong supporting cast that includes fellow All-Area player Sydney Aitchison along with veteran standouts Kailee Bass, Emma Aske and Sydnie Herrmann.

Steady improvement

Dowd's coach said she's made tremendous strides in improving her overall game - her passing and defense are no longer areas of concern on the court - and that her mental toughness and preparation also help make her special.

"She's really worked on serve receive because she knows everyone will pick on her because they don't want her to hit," Macdonald said. "They want to wear her down. She's really worked on her defense and also her mental aspect."

Sure, Dowd produced 328 kills, 168 digs and 37 blocks this season, but what mattered most was putting the Mustangs program on the map in a state known for great girls volleyball.

"The best part about her, she's athletic and everything, but she's one of the most humble players," Macdonald said. "She's got our kill record for a season (twice now) and she passed Lexi Lobdell for the career record, but she's just such a humble player. She would rather have our team win than worry about how many kills she gets.

"Obviously, she's going to get her kills because she's a special player. But with the variety and just the athleticism of our varsity girls now not everything has to go through Mikaila. And she's taken over that leadership role."

Aitchison, who had 650 assists in 2017, will not soon forget playing alongside Dowd.

"She's one of the hardest-working girls I've ever met and an amazing teammate, but she's an even better person," the fellow senior Mustang added. "She's always there if I need her. If I'm ever struggling - if anyone on the team is struggling - she's always there to talk to and to pick you up. She's such an emotional leader and she's such a positive impact for our team on the court. She's such a great teammate and a great player and I'm so excited for her future at Georgia Tech."

Dowd, meanwhile, will cherish the wins and the DVC title for some time, even if she's a bit sad about leaving her teammates and friends a little early.

"I knew we were going to win, but I didn't know we were going to sweep the whole thing and that is crazy," she said of Metea's run through the DVC. "The first day I realized we won conference before it was even over, and we had one more game left, I was just kind of going around first period, telling guys, 'Watch out, you're in the presence of a conference champion now.'

"I knew last year that we were going to have a good team this year, but we completely steamrolled (the old record). We're just so used to the grind. We get in tough situations and we get ourselves out of it. Winning isn't everything. It's almost like the feeling on the court is what we crave."