Huntley’s Boesch commits to Wake Forest
Huntley junior girls volleyball standout Sam Boesch is taking her big swing to Wake Forest.
Boesch, 16, of Lake in the Hills, made a verbal commitment this week to play Atlantic Coast Conference volleyball for the Demon Deacons under sixth-year coach Heather Kahl Holmes.
That name should sound familiar to Huntley fans. Kahl Holmes led the Huntley volleyball program to a second-place finish in Class A in 1990, coached by her father, Larry Kahl, who directed Huntley volleyball for 15 seasons. Larry Kahl’s teams won 463 matches and qualified for the state finals on six occasions.
Boesch visited the Winston-Salem campus over the summer and felt at home with Kahl Holmes’ program.
“It helped a lot to have someone there from Huntley,” Boesch said of her future coach. “She knew it was like to come from there. I could talk to her about almost anything and she could relate.
“And I absolutely fell in love with the campus. I saw an opportunity to have a great education and do what I love, which is play volleyball.
This week’s commitment represents a personal triumph for Boesch, who missed all but two matches as a sophomore after suffering a separated shoulder in practice the day before the season opener.
“I wasn’t worried about it because I still got to play club that year. I just had to come back even stronger.”
Boesch proved she was at full strength last summer when she and her Sky High Volleyball 16-U teammates won the open AAU national title in Orlando, Fla.
She followed that up with an excellent high school campaign last fall. The junior posted 287 kills, 264 digs and 20 aces for a team that went 32-5 before losing in a regional title match to DeKalb. Boesch was named to the Champaign News Gazette honorable mention all-state team.
“I’m really proud of her,” Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski said. “She worked hard to get back up to the top. It’s really where she wanted to be.”
Boesch, who chose Wake Forest over Mississippi, is the second member of the Huntley Class of 2012 to commit to an ACC volleyball program. Junior libero Amy Dion committed to Maryland last fall.