Prospect's Hunt will take her talents to Cornell

Scoring a 35 on her ACT college entrance exam out of a possible 36, Sarah Hunt obviously excels in the classroom.

Earning the Player of the Year award in the Mid-Suburban League West Division this fall, Hunt also succeeds on the volleyball court.

When she gets to college next fall, the Prospect senior will combine both talents at the Division I level.

Hunt has made a verbal commitment to Cornell University of the Ivy League in Ithaca, New York.

“I looked into playing at Cornell because I wanted to focus on getting a high quality education as well as playing volleyball,” said Hunt, who plans to study engineering. “When I went on my visits, I loved the campus, the team and the coaching philosophy. It just felt like such a great fit.”

Hunt has been a great fit at Prospect, where she also plays center for the Knights' girls basketball team.

She owns a weighted GPA of 5.57 and non-weighted of 4.95.

Hunt will leave high school as the school's all-time leader in kills (650). She also owns the school record for most blocks in a match and highest season hitting efficiency.

Hunt began playing volleyball in the fifth grade through the Arlington Heights Park District.

“I wouldn't say that I have one big mentor but I have had a lot of support from my teams and coaches,” Hunt said. “Mr. (Mike) Riedy (Prospect girls volleyball coach) did a very good job of keeping practices both fun and productive. I also saw a lot of improvement through my training at Sky High.”

Hunt began club volleyball when she was a sophomore.

“I didn't even think about playing volleyball in college until I started playing club volleyball my sophomore year,” she said. “The high level of competition really helped me improve, and I realized that I would enjoy playing at the next level.”

Sarah's parents did not start playing volleyball until they were adults.

“But I used to go watch their co-ed league games when I was younger, which was a large part of why I wanted to start playing,” Sarah said. “They were very encouraging of my playing volleyball and they coached my park district teams.”

“I like the teamwork that plays such a big role in the game. It is also such an exciting sport and is so much fun both to watch and to play.”

And not too many girls have played it better at Prospect than Hunt.

Hall of Fame

Mike Taylor, whose St. Viator boys' soccer teams have won 442 games including two state championships, 16 regional titles, 10 sectional crowns and a dozen East Suburban Catholic Conference titles was recently inducted into the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches' Hall of Fame.

Taylor received a standing ovation after St. Viator assistant athletic director Mike Manno introduced him to the crowd at the boys' state soccer banquet.

“Over the years, I have had the pleasure to work with many talented teams, all of whom have made my job enjoyable,” Taylor said during the induction ceremony at the Diplomat West Banquet Hall in Elmhurst. “I am most fortunate to have been able to do what I love for 31 years, including the past 23 years at St. Viator.

“It has afforded me the opportunity to combine my two passions, coaching and traveling and to take players to international tournaments and experience many different cultures.”

Football

Augustana senior wide receiver Corbett Ball (Buffalo Grove) was named to the all-conference team in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

Ball had a record-breaking season as a wide receiver, finishing the year with 60 catches for 613 yards and 2 touchdowns. He averaged 10.2 yards per reception and broke the Augustana school record for single-season catches. The mark was 50 set by Paul Ander in 1968.

Ball led the CCIW in catches per game with an average of 6.71 as he hauled in 47 in seven league games for 490 yards and 1 touchdown.

Ÿ Carthage junior defensive back Brian Hipchen (Fremd), who had 10 interceptions, 13 breakups and 46 tackles, was named to the first-team All-CCIW team.

Carthage senior running back Jake Smith (Fremd) and junior wide receiver Mike Koeneman (Fremd) were named to the second team.

Smith averaged 68.0 rushing yards per game, 56.2 receiving yards per game and scored 9 touchdowns.

Koeneman averaged 66.7 reception yards per game and 5 touchdowns.

Women's swimming

Millikin's Sian Wilson (Maine West) was second in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 26.07 at the Monmouth Invite where the Big Blue placed fourth.

Women's volleyball

Denison senior defensive specialist Lauren Weidner (Barrington) earned honorable mention All-NCAC honors.

Weidner, making her first appearance on the All-NCAC squad, filled in nicely at defensive specialist for 2009 Libero of the Year Holly Leonard.

Weidner led Denison in digs with 665 (6.16 per game) and finished her career with 1,600 digs. Weidner collected 12 digs in the season finale against Wittenberg in the NCAC Tournament semifinals.

Denison qualified for the NCAC Tournament this season for the first time since 2006.

Ÿ Carthage junior outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski (Hersey), who averaged 2.71 kills per set was named to the third team for the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American list.

Carthage junior setter Drewann Pancratz (Schaumburg), who averaged 9.08 assists per set) earned honorable mention recognition.

Both were named AVCA first-team all-Midwest region.

Women's basketball

Loyola junior Ellen Ayoub (Buffalo Gove) scored a career-high 16 points in the season opener against Eastern Michigan and finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds in an overtime win against Western Michigan.

Ayoub, who led the Ramblers in rebounding last year while playing just under 20 minutes per game in a reserve role, is averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds in two games this season.

Men's soccer

St. Xavier freshman goalkeeper Kyle Held (Palatine), who earned defensive player of the week honors three times in the CCAC, has been named all-conference.

Women's soccer

Freshman forward Jaclyn Tumberger (St. Viator) was a starter for nationally-ranked Loras (22-1-1), which lost on penalty kicks to Otterbein in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

After 110 minutes of scoreless play, the match went to penalty kicks where Otterbein scored three times to Loras' 1 to claim the victory.

Tumberger was selected to the second team of the all-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Magic Basketball

Magic Basketball/MD Basketball will be hosting two basketball camps Nov. 28 at the Sports City Academy in Woodstock. You can email info@martydellobaeektball.com with any questions. Online Registration is available at www.martydellobasketball.com. Participants will learn the practice technique that players in the NBA, college and high school ranks are using. Third- through eighth-graders will play from 1-3 p.m. on Nov. 28 . The fee of $40 includes a T-shirt.

Ÿ Please e-mail Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com or FAX to (847) 427-1173.