Burlington Central's Holthus thrives on being in control

Stephanie Holthus continues to evolve.

When she joined the Burlington Central varsity girls volleyball team as a freshman hitting prospect in 2006, the Elgin resident was a quiet player, one more willing to listen and learn than impress her will upon her teammates.

She took her cues from the older girls in the program while gaining their respect with her phenomenal play and her deeply ingrained competitive streak.

Now a senior, the once-meek Stephanie Holthus has grown into the leader of the Rockets, in deeds and in words. She has filled the leadership void left by the graduation of two-time All-Area honorary captain Molly Turk (Northern Iowa), who teamed with Holthus and Meg Zasada (Illinois State) to lead the Rockets to the 2008 Class 3A title match at Redbird Arena.

"She's turned into a great leader, which is amazing," Burlington Central coach Marv Leavitt said. "As a freshman she was just a quiet, great player. But she's had some really good role models to follow the last couple of years, like Molly. She's become a great leader. She really pulls the team together."

Though leading may not have been her natural instinct, that quality emerged this season as Holthus helped bind a squad seemingly diminished by graduation. The Northwestern University recruit led Burlington Central to a share of its third straight title in the Big Northern East. The leadership mantle was one she had to assume if the Rockets were to remain an area power.

"I'm not going to lie, coming into this year I thought it was going to be really hard," Holthus said of being the leader. "There were so many underclassmen and it's high school volleyball, which is a little lower on the commitment side than club volleyball is. But I really think I did a good job of getting the other players in the program interested and committed to playing volleyball. I think the progression this team has made from the beginning of the season until now shows how much potential we have as a program."

Entering Class 3A regional play on her home court this week, Holthus has once again amassed astounding statistical totals, numbers that give weight to her role as the vocal leader of the Rockets (26-8). A hitting efficiency of .300 is excellent in high school volleyball and .400 borders on all-state caliber, an honor Holthus achieved as a junior. But the 5-foot-113/4 outside hitter, whose vertical was last measured at 9 feet, 11 inches, has totaled 417 kills in 733 attempts for an other worldly .503 kill efficiency.

"I've had several all-state players over the years, fantastic players - and over 30 have played Division I - but there's no doubt that she's the best player I've ever coached," Leavitt said. "There's no comparison."

Even the opposition agrees.

"You know the ball is going to her, but she's such a smart player and just finds a way to score," said Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse, whose team split two matches and the BNE title with Central. "She proved it against us when we played there. When the game gets on the line she just steps up and is going to take control."

Holthus used her wicked jump serve to notch 92 aces in 295 serving attempts (31 percent). One of the best passers in the state, she made only 20 errors in 374 serve receive attempts, an astounding 94.7 percent success rate. Demonstrating her all-around ability, the 17-year old also contributed 212 digs and 44 blocks.

For her stellar year as a player on the court and as a leader off and on it, Burlington Central senior Stephanie Holthus has been named the honorary captain of the 2009 Daily Herald All-Area girls volleyball team in the Fox Valley.

Holthus is best when the game is on the line because she finds losing slightly less appealing than a tooth drilling. Just the thought of losing brings out her not-so-meek side.

"If we lose a game it will just wreck my entire day," said Holthus, who carries a 3.7 grade-point average. "I get so intense sometimes I start yelling at some people, not to be mean or anything, but that's just how intense I am when it comes to competition. In games every once in a while a swear word might slip out. Now, I don't really swear unless we're in a really intense game. I'm like 'We are not going to lose to this team,' and then some swear words might get thrown in. So, yes, I am very competitive."

"We could be playing tiddly winks or bingo and she's going to win," Leavitt said. "She just wants to win no matter what it is. She's just a competitor, and she brings out the best in her teammates. She makes her teammates so much better. They want to play for her.

"And the neat thing is she's a good person, too. Sometimes you can have a really big head if you're this great club player, MVP and all that type stuff. She doesn't do that. She just wants to compete."

Holthus has been competing in club volleyball since the sixth grade at Marengo-based Club Fusion. She grew up playing on the same teams with Kansas-bound twins Kara and Amy Wehrs of rival Hampshire, whom she counts among her closest friends. She said devoting so much time in her young life to the pursuit of volleyball excellence is a choice she would not hesitate to make if she had to do it all over again.

"Some people tell me I have no life, that it's all volleyball and I never get to hang out with any friends," Holthus said. "But I honestly don't think I'm missing out on all that much. I mean, I love the girls. The relationships I've made throughout Fusion are going to last me a lifetime. I don't want to say that volleyball is my life, but I don't know what I would be if I didn't have volleyball."

Like many superior athletes her tireless efforts to be one of the best are based, at least partly, in fear.

"I never thought I was that much better than any other player in the gym," Holthus said. "That's kind of what has kept me working hard in practices because I always feel like there's another player that wanted to kick me out of my position because they wanted to start. It just kept me motivated to keep getting better as a player."

That inner motivation made her better and better, so much so Holthus has developed a high profile on the national volleyball scene. Last December she was invited to join the U.S. Youth Girls Youth team for a tournament in Croatia. Over the summer she trained with national team hopefuls in Tampa, Fla., where she was named best passer. Recently, she was among 24 athletes invited to train this December at the U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo. She would like to compete internationally someday on sports' biggest stage.

"It might sound a bit crazy, but I'd like to be in the Olympics in 2016," she said. "That's really my long-term goal."

Doesn't sound crazy at all, actually. Not for a devoted volleyball player like Holthus, whose evolution may have only just begun.