Haggenjos wraps up one impressive career

NORMAL - When Kristen Haggenjos joined the St. Edward varsity volleyball team as a freshman in 2005, she was not touted to be the Green Wave's next superstar.

"We didn't know all that much about the game back then," Haggenjos says now.

Jaime Walton was in her second year as St. Edward coach in 2005 and had taken the Green Wave to a fourth-place finish in the Class A state tournament the previous November.

"Once Jaime got comfortable at St. Ed's things started to happen for us," Haggenjos said.

And as Haggenjos learned more about the game from Walton and her coaching staff, she became a better player, thus helping St. Edward become a better team. That all culminated here Saturday when Haggenjos led the Green Wave to a 25-22, 26-24 win overt Princeton in the third-place match of the Class 2A state finals at Redbird Arena.

"I owe it all to Jaime," Haggenjos said. "She taught me all I know."

Walton says Haggenjos was a special player right from the start.

"I pulled her up as a freshman because she needed that experience," Walton said. "I knew she was going to step into a leadership role as a sophomore and she gained the experience she needed to do that her freshman year.

"She's an extremely coachable kid. I've never had anybody in the program that wants to win for the team as much as she does. At the beginning of the tournament season we sat down and had a heart to heart and we actually teared up. She said she wanted so badly for the team to win. Not her, the team. You can't get a better kid than that."

Haggenjos knew all about being a powerful hitter when she was a freshman. She was 5-foot-8 or so and pretty much towered over girls her own age. But she quickly learned there's more to the game than hitting, and over the years she's become the complete package, as evidenced by the fact she had a team-high 330 kills entering the state tournament but was also second to her sophomore sister, a defensive specialist, in digs with 206.

"I haven't really grown since freshman year," said Haggenjos, who is listed at 5-9 on the Green Wave roster. "I started to love playing defense and that' probably what I'll be doing in college. I've learned you can't run a good offense without a good defense and it's one of the things I really like. Kills get you all the glory but if you make a good dig I don't think people realize it's an equally good feeling."

Haggenjos, who plays for Club Fusion and calls Burlington Central senior setter Molly Turk, also a Fusion player, one of her best friends, says she's also developed a tougher mentality about the game,

"I didn't think the game back when I was a freshman like I do now," she said. "Defense and the mental part are the two biggest things in this game."

Haggenjos' senior teammate Katie Yohn, who will begin basketball practice today as she prepares for her senior season before going on to a hoops scholarship at Bradley, has come to appreciate Haggenjos' love of competition.

"It's been inspiring for me that we both share a passion for winning," Yohn said. "I want to win for her because I know how much she loves this game. This year meant so much to me for her. She was our go-to girl and she was just - she was clutch."

As Haggenjos prepares for a new chapter in her life, she knows her time at St. Edward will serve as a guide.

"This was such a great way to end my high school season," she said. "I know I'll be a better player at Loyola by making it to state."

And St. Edward will forever be a better volleyball program because of Kristen Haggenjos.

jradtke@dailyherald.com