Cary-Grove's Lamberti chooses Ohio University

Cary-Grove girls volleyball standout Kelly Lamberti made a verbal commitment Thursday night to play for Ohio University in 2011.

A junior outside hitter, Lamberti was a key player in the Trojans' run to the 2009 Class 4A state title. The 6-footer finished her third varsity season with team highs in kills (392) and aces (96) and contributed 197 digs and 88 blocks.

Lamberti made the second of two visits in five weeks to the Athens, Ohio campus last weekend.

"I just loved everything about it," she said. "I loved the coaches, and they have great academics. They have a great education program, and I want to be a teacher."

Lamberti, who holds a 3.79 grade-point average at Cary-Grove, has been receiving recruitment letters from colleges via Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis since her freshman year. She chose Ohio over finalists Pittsburgh, Illinois-Chicago, Valparaiso and Saint Louis.

"It'll be a lot less stressful now that I don't have anything to worry about," Lamberti said.

Johnsburg junior libero Kelsey Nobilio, a Sky-High club volleyball teammate of Lamberti's, also committed to Ohio on Thursday. The two are close friends off the court, Lamberti said.

In 2009, Ohio University won the Mid-American Conference title for the sixth time in seven years. The Bobcats reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament before they were beaten by Michigan in 5 games in December. Ohio finished the season with a record of 27-7, and coach Ryan Theis has a combined record of 51-14 in his two seasons.

"I think Ohio University is a perfect fit for Lamberti because it's in the MAC, which is a really strong conference and very competitive with the Big Ten," Langanis said. "I think she will be able to step in at Ohio and really be able to make an impact immediately.

"She could have played at a Big Ten school, but she wanted to go somewhere where she could make a difference right away. She can really be a standout in the MAC. I could definitely see her breaking some records for the school and the conference. I think it's a perfect fit."

Lamberti is the fifth member of the 2009 Cary-Grove state championship team to commit to an NCAA Division I school, joining senior setter Abbey Heredia (Jacksonville State), senior outside hitter Kayla Klinger (Charleston Southern), senior middle blocker Colleen Hargrove (Charleston Southern) and junior setter Colleen Smith (Indiana).

Kelly's older sister, Lauren Lamberti is a junior right-side hitter at the University of Connecticut.