Elgin grad Sikora excelling at Olivet
Elgin High School graduate Erin Sikora had a busy time on the academic end of things earlier this week at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais.
"I've been crazy busy with tests," said Sikora. "I had tests in Abnormal Psychology and Social Problems. Those are upper division classes in my major. Abnormal Psychology is really hard and Social Problems is very interesting, but not as hard."
Sikora has also been getting after it on the volleyball court as well. She was recently named the NAIA national player of the week. She earned the award after recording her first career triple-double with 10 kills, 45 assists and 11 digs in a five-game road victory over St. Francis.
Sikora is the second Olivet player to receive the award. Former All-American setter Megan Gullickson was named the national setter of the week during the 2005 season.
Sikora, a junior setter, is part of an Olivet team that was 34-9 through midweek. Olivet ended the regular season ranked 16th in the country. The team went 10-0 in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play and opened the league tournament as the No. 1 seed with a 3-0 victory over No. 8 seed Purdue-North Central Tuesday.
Sikora, according to the NAIA Web site, was ranked 17th in the nation in assists-per-game (10.13).
"It's a great honor," said Sikora of winning the national award. "Our previous setter who I learned behind is the only other person here that has received it. It's exciting. It means a lot for the Olivet volleyball program."
Sikora feels her improvement as a setter has come as the result of being more observant on the court.
"It's definitely just having a sense of the other side of the court and knowing what the other team is doing," said Sikora. "My job is to basically watch the other middles and see which way they choose to go and who the commit with and then set the opposite of where they are."
Sikora says consistency also comes into play.
"I have the ability to put up good, hittable balls that my hitters can put away," said Sikora.
Sikora is a former hitter herself.
"I used to hit, so I'm a pretty good offensive weapon as well," said Sikora. "I can contribute kills as well as be a setter."
Sikora came into the 2008 season on the injury list after having knee surgery just 2 weeks before the start of preseason practices.
"I tore my meniscus in two places," she said. "They fixed that and I was out the first month of the season."
Sikora was able to observe the development of the Olivet team while she was sidelined.
"I fit in nicely when I came back," she said. "Being out, I got to watch our team. We have a very new team this year. It was good to have the chance to watch them and then step in and help them. It was very frustrating to sit out, though."
Sikora's time at Olivet has been enjoyable. But she wishes she could slow it down.
"It's going by way too fast," said Sikora. "I do enjoy it very much here. We're having a very good year. We've played some tough competition. It's been awesome to come into a nationally ranked program and contribute and help them keep the tradition going."
Sikora, who has a 3.0 grade-point average, is a double major in psychology and sociology at Olivet.
"First, I'll have to go to grad school and get my master's degree in professional counseling and school counseling," said Sikora. "I would like to start out as a school counselor and coach volleyball. And when I'm sick of coaching I'd like to get into professional counseling."
Handling the rigors of being a student-athlete is something Sikora has managed to balance quite nicely.
"It's tough sometimes in the beginning of the season when we travel on weekends," said Sikora. "I have to miss Friday classes and Thursday ones sometimes. The professors have been real good about it. Sometimes it's hard having to read so much and teach yourself so much of the material."
Sikora is the second of three sisters to go through Elgin High. Her older sister, Kelly, played basketball at Augustana in Rock Island. She's now in medical school at Rush in Chicago. Sikora's younger sister is a senior and is a cheerleader at Elgin.
MCC women's volleyball headed to nationals: The McHenry County College women's volleyball team recently won the Region IV District B title and advanced to the NJCAA national tournament for a fourth-straight year.
MCC (36-11) downed Moraine Valley (3-0) in the semifinals and defeated Kankakee (3-0) in the region championship match. The Scots, who have qualified for national in 5 of the last 6 seasons, will play in the NJCAA Division II nationals in the Wisconsin Dells, Nov. 20-22.
MCC has played a schedule that has included 21 of 52 matches against nationally ranked opponents.
MCC players Shaela Hayden (Harvard), Amy Reynolds (Schaumburg) and Cat Martin (Harvard) were named to the NJCAA Division II Region IV District B all-region first team. Hayden and Martin were also District B all-tournament picks.
The team also includes Cary-Grove freshman twins Danielle and Breanna Smith.
MCC coach Chas Kennedy was named the region coach of the year and the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference coach of the year.
Leyden at Benedictine: St. Edward alum Kayla Leyden was recently named to the all-Northern Athletic Conference (NAC) team. Leyden was a first-team selection.
Leyden, a sophomore, earned her second-straight first-team all-conference award. Leyden averaged 4.02 kills per game in conference action and also contributed 4.01 digs per game.
Leyden was the only NAC player ranked among the league's top 10 in both kills and digs. She led the league in kills per game and was fourth in digs. She also ranked ninth in hitting percentage and was second on the team in service aces with 37.
Leyden was also twice named NAC student-athlete of the week.
Leyden was the NAC rookie of the year and was an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) honorable mention all-Midwest region selection. She has been nominated for that same award this season.
"Kayla was very deserving of being named all-conference for the second straight season," said Benedictine coach Jennifer Wildes. "She was a huge part of our offense and led our team in digs. Kayla did a fantastic job for us all around. She is fun to watch and I look forward to seeing her grow in the next 2 years."
Off at college wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at mmiazga@dailyherald.com.