Perfect setting for Hohl at Penn State
Imagine the dream world you'd be in if, say, you were a huge fan of Steven Spielberg movies and Harrison Ford was one of your favorite actors - and suddenly, you found yourself in a Spielberg movie opposite Ford.
That's Kimi Hohl's reality right now.
Well, minus the Spielberg and Ford part.
Just a year ago, Hohl marveled at the Penn State volleyball team as it marched to the NCAA Division I championship.
She and her volleyball teammates at Kishwaukee College in Malta, Ill., got together and watched the championship game on TV.
"We were all just like, 'Gosh, those girls at Penn State are really, really good,'" said Hohl, a former standout at Cary-Grove High School. "They were all like celebrities to us.
"I had also seen Russ Rose (the coach at Penn State) at some club volleyball things when I was in high school, and I remember just being star-struck by him. He was like a celebrity, too."
So what does that make Hohl now? An A-lister in her own right?
Hohl took the scenic route and got a little lucky along the way, but she managed to ultimately buck the odds and join the team and the players and the coach whom she once could only admire from afar.
After spending two years at Kishwaukee because she couldn't get recruited in high school, Hohl is now a backup setter at Penn State, which is experiencing unprecedented levels of success.
Before Friday's home game against Northwestern, the top-ranked Lady Lions (28-0) won their 53rd straight match, dating to the early weeks of last season.
That's an NCAA record for consecutive victories.
"People are saying our team could be the best college team ever," Hohl said. "I'm not playing a whole lot this year. Every starter from last year is back. But I'm still really, really happy. It's just amazing to be a part of something this special. Only a year ago, I never thought I'd be where I am right now."
Last fall, Hohl was named Most Outstanding Player as she guided Kishwaukee to the NJCAA Division II championship.
It was Kishwaukee's second straight national title with Hohl as the starting setter.
"It was great to win national championships. It felt really good," said Hohl, who set a Kishwaukee season record last year with 1,694 assists. "It was also frustrating, though, because I knew I could probably be playing at a higher level."
Hohl is just 5-feet-6, while most major Division I setters are at least 5-9 and often 6 feet. They're expected to be able to block in the front row, which Hohl struggles to do.
So scouts glossed over her.
Most of the time, anyway.
"When I was a senior in high school, Russ Rose came to my club to take a look at some other player he was recruiting, and before he left, he went up to my coach (Ron Sweet) and started talking about me," Hohl said. "Russ said, 'You know, you've got a fiery little setter there. I love her attitude, her leadership, the way she plays. I would take her in a heartbeat.'"
But Rose didn't have a scholarship to give that year. And with no other takers, Hohl settled for Kishwaukee, where Sweet also coaches.
After her second year at Kishwaukee, Hohl was offered a scholarship at Iowa, but shortly after making her verbal commitment, all of the coaches there resigned.
Hohl then turned her attention to the University of Evansville.
"I went down there and loved it, loved the girls, loved the coaches, loved the program," Hohl said. "It was my only other offer, and I just thought, 'I think I'm going to go there.'
"But literally as I was driving home from my visit, Ron (Sweet) called and said, 'Russ Rose just had a setter transfer out and he called me looking for you.' Honestly, I just started laughing because I thought Ron was playing a joke on me. I was like, 'Stop messing with me!'"
Rose called just hours later, and before Hohl knew it, she was on her way to Happy Valley.
"The visit was amazing," Hohl said. "Coach Rose was like, 'Our first match will be against Hawaii - in Hawaii. And we charter a private jet to all of our games.'
"I was like, 'OK, where can I sign?' I mean, at Kishwaukee, we ride to all of our games in a van.'"
Hohl is a long way from those van rides. And even though she isn't getting much court time now, she's optimistic that will change next season.
"It's hard going from being the team leader to being in more of a supportive role," Hohl said. "But I am so enjoying this ride. I'm at my dream school.
"I think this just proves that if you keep your goals in mind and don't let anyone deter you from what you want, good things will happen for you."
pbabcock@dailyherald.com