Cook County girls volleyball notes: Palatine’s Ratay leaving her mark in own sport; Barrington takes second at Jacobs tourney

Alaina Ratay's aunts Michele and Alicia were heralded girls basketball stars at their respective Buffalo Grove and Lake Zurich high schools and they went on to play at Northwestern and Notre Dame.

Alaina's father Brett was a Mid-Suburban League all-conference forward for the Buffalo Grove boys basketball team.

But Alaina, a Palatine senior, has found her own niche in another sport.

Alaina is in her fourth year on the Pirates girls varsity volleyball team for coach Dan Gavin.

Coming into this season, Ratay already has the school rally-score era record for assists with 1,765 and she’s coming off a junior season where she registered 723 assists, 36 aces, 213 digs and 27 blocks.

"I started volleyball around fourth grade in the local park district," Alaina said. "I loved it."

It was hardly the first sport she tried.

"I did dance, ice skating, gymnastics and stuff like that," she said. “Obviously I knew about my aunts setting records in basketball (Alicia won a national title and was a top 3-pointer shooter in the nation while at Notre Dame). I did play basketball my freshman year. I liked the physicality and aggressiveness of the sport but volleyball had always just been my thing."

And that was evident from the first day she walked through the doors at Palatine.

"Alaina is a special kid," said Pirates coach Dan Gavin. "When she came in as a freshman, you could see the talent and athleticism. She had already played a good amount of volleyball but what really jumped out was the volleyball IQ. It just came naturally to her."

Even though he realized all the potential, Gavin didn’t want to rush Ratay.

"But what I underestimated initially was her drive and her passion," he said. "She was a kid who wanted to be great and it didn’t take long before I realized she simply wasn’t going to let me slow play things with her. She was going to work and work until she got on the varsity court full time."

About halfway through her freshman season, Gavin ended up running 5-1 offense with Ratay at the Antioch tournament and the Pirates went 5-0.

"She hasn’t left the court since," Gavin said. "Her numbers are impressive to say the least but the character is what really sets her apart. She competes, she wants to be great, and she wants to be coached hard."

Gavin often jokes that she’s the only athlete he has coached in 51 seasons of high volleyball (boys and girls) who actually thanked him for “yelling” at her."

Ratay, who enjoys watching collegiate setters, wants to play at the next level and eventually become a teacher or psychologist.

"Alaina is a game changer," Gavin added. "Some college out there is going to pick her up and when they do, I’m confident it will be a defining moment in the next few years of that program. But for now, I’m glad she gets to wear a Palatine jersey for the next few months."

Maine West: What a moment it was for Payton Litney when she coached her first game at Maine West two weeks ago.

She went up against Conant, the school where she was an honorable mention All-Area setter before becoming an all-N4C selection at the College of DuPage.

"It was a surreal experience to be coaching against my alma mater,“ said Litney, who was the head coach at Lisle the last two seasons. "Getting to see old teachers and staff made the night that much more special. While it was a tough loss, it was truly what the team needed to give us a kick-start for the rest of the season."

Now in her first season at Maine West, Litney says her main focus is building program standards and culture.

"Our sole focus for varsity is becoming a team," she said. "The players and I have spent hours in the gym and classroom identifying our strengths and growing in every way.

"The girls have truly shifted their mindset and have been improving ever since our first match."

The Warriors competed exceptionally hard against Glenbrook North, almost pushing the Spartans to a third set. They recently took sixth place at the Hawks Invitational going 2-2.

Hersey: Hersey got off to a 6-3 start after going 3-2 in the Peggy Scholten Invite. Coach Laura Gerber's Huskies defeated St. Francis, Schaumburg and St. Charles East.

The Huskies also posted an impressive win over St. Viator last week.

"The team is working together and playing well," Gerber said. "Our two freshman outsides Marlow Das and Karina Boduch have done a great job adjusting to the varsity level, along with Avery Bashford and Morgan Matteuchi (sophomores). Mahi Vullukula (right side) and Freya McBride, they have been super consistent and have been great leaders on and off the court."

McBride was named to the all-tourney team at the Peggy Scholten.

Leyden: Playing a tough schedule, Leyden has started out 0-4, losing in three sets to Maine East. "This very young and inexperienced team is learning what it takes to play at and compete at the varsity level," said Eagles coach Emmettt O'Keefe, whose team is without junior setter and returning starter Kasia Wadolkowski (concussion).

O'Keefe said he's seen great development from sophomores Mallory Richmond and Maya Delgado on the outside and Maria Samolyk on the right side. Senior libero Juliana Guiglio has done a great job leading the team and setting the tone for the defense. "Our goal for the next few weeks is to continue to improve our serve receive," O'Keefe added.

Elk Grove: First — year coach Celina Wlodarski said the Grenadiers have been looking energetic and fierce to start the season. "We have a great mix of upperclassmen veterans bringing experience and leadership, along with some fresh new talent that has already made an impact," said Wlodarski, a 2014 grad of Elk Grove who has coached in the program the last six years and is now a speech pathologist. "There’s been a lot of excitement and competitive energy in the gym."

Barrington: The Fillies have had a very busy first two weeks of the season, including a sixth-place finish at the highly-competitive Plainfield North Tournament and a runner-up finish at the Jacobs Invite, falling to Glenbard West in the championship match.

The Fillies are currently led in kills by Kalyn Brookbank, assists by Eve Adler and digs by Toni Rojas.

"We are looking forward to starting conference play and continuing to build on a great start to the season," said coach Michelle Mayer.

St. Viator: St. Viator was in several tight matches in the first two weeks of the season.

Olivia Walberg has been a standout thus far with a team-leading 58 kills.

"We begin our newly joined GCAC conference this year and look to make an impact from the beginning," said coach Charlie Curtin said.

Last weekend, the Lions placed third out of 12 teams at the Hoffman Estates tourney, going 3-1 with wins over Maine West, Elk Grove and Buffalo Grove.

Prospect: Prospect (2-7) has already participated in the Crimson Classic hosted by Plainfield North and Jacobs Invitational. The Knights also played a pair of nonconference matches, including their season opener when they took a two-set win over Maine South, which is 9-4.

Fremd: Coach Pete Gavin's Vikings (7-4) took third place in the Peggy Scholten Invite as junior outside hitter and Loyola recruit pledge Harper Neill was selected to the all-tourney team.

Maine South: The Hawks are off to a 9-4 start after taking second at the Peggy Scholten Invite. Senior Safia Orucevic and junior Alex Galimski were named to the all-tourney team.

Joliet West went 5-0 to win the Peggy Scholten, named after the former Conant Hall of Fame coach Peggy Scholten. Maine South (4-1) took second place followed by Fremd (4-1) and Lake Park (3-2) who rounded out the top four.