Big finish for Dembkowski?

Lauren Dembkowski has seen it all in her three years starting for the Hersey varsity volleyball team.

Now she will be seen as the Huskies' most prominent player as she begins her fourth season on the varsity.

The 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter has been around for a trip to the state finals in Normal and three Mid-Suburban League East conference crowns.

Dembkowski would love to cap her final season with a grand slam in East titles and another trip to Redbird Arena for the state finals.

"That was so exciting to be downstate as a freshman," Dembkowski said. "The atmosphere. The huge jumbotron. The big crowd. Everyone cheering. It would be a dream come true to be able to do it again."

Dembkowski has been a dream player for Lill, who begins her 20th season at Hersey and has a career record of 625-202.

"Lauren has been a great kid who works hard , provides good leadership and quietly gets the job done," Lill said. "I've noticed this fall that she has learned to vary her offense. She is hitting different types of shots and keeping defenders off balance."

Dembkowski knows how to balance her volleyball and schoolwork. She possesses a 5.67 GPA on a 5.0 scale and received all A's during her junior year.

The daughter of a kindergarten teacher at Rhodes School in River Grove (mom Nancy), Lauren would like to study elementary education.

"When I was little, my mom used to bring me to her school and I would read books to the kids and other little things."

Now she does big things on the volleyball court, where her outstanding vertical leap (better than 25 inches) allows a generous view of the court.

"She is a real good leaper," Lill said. "She jumps so high and can pretty much decide where she wants to put the ball on the other side."

Dembkowski put the ball down for a team-high 290 kills on last year's team which included all-area standout Annie Fesl, who broke nearly every setting record in school history and is now at Cincinnati.

Fesl set Dembkowski for the past three years.

In her first two seasons, Dembkowski also got to play with Fesl's sister Megan, who now plays for Notre Dame.

"Megan (Hersey's all-time kills leader) was such a great player," Dembkowski said. "It was such a great learning experience playing with her on the court. I picked up so many skills by playing with her. She definitely had a great mentality for the game."

Dembkowski now finds herself in the role that the Fesls had the previous season.

"It's kind of scary," she said. "One day at summer camp, a former Hersey player said to me, 'Now, you're the big senior, the one everyone will be looking up to.' So I'll be talking on the floor, encouraging my teammates and starting the team huddles on the floor."

Lill is confident her senior will make the transition.

"I remember four years ago, she was a scared freshman starting for us at the beginning of the season and then she ended up playing downstate," Lill said.

Dembowski, who started playing the game when a teacher suggested it to her at River Trails Middle School in Mount Prospect, is grateful Lill gave her that chance to play varsity in the fall of 2004.

"That was more than I could have asked for," said Dembkowski, who has played for the Sky High club since her freshman year. "I just wanted to play at any level. She (Lill) has taught me a huge amount about volleyball. She gave me a great chance four years ago."

And now it's Dembkowski's chance to guide the Huskies.

"Lauren is just an excellent all-around player," Lill said. "She also plays great defense and passes real well. She gets along great with her teammates and is just a pleasure to have on the team."

"She's had the experience playing with some of the most outstanding players in school history. Now she's the senior and an outstanding player. It's kind of fun to see how things evolve."