Girls volleyball: Fox Valley All-Area captain Burgdorf excited for future at Penn State after record-setting four years at St. Charles North
When she’s not making life miserable for opposing teams, St. Charles North senior girls volleyball standout Haley Burgdorf likes to build things with LEGOs.
What are her favorite LEGO scenes she has built, one might ask?
“That’s a great question,” Burgdorf said. “One of my favorites is a Harry Potter train. There is the Pyramid of Giza and definitely this Milky Way I built. It had so many little, intricate pieces. And there’s my brother’s LEGO car. That had circle parts that sometimes don’t always go in.”
Back to that making opponents’ lives miserable part … Burgdorf, headed to play college volleyball at perennial Division I national powerhouse Penn State, took that skill to new heights this season, helping St. Charles North go 35-4, win the DuKane Conference title with a 7-0 mark and advance to a Class 4A sectional championship match.
Hit the Easy Button. Burgdorf is the beyond easy choice as the Captain of the 2025 Daily Herald Fox Valley girls volleyball All-Area team. It’s her second captain award in as many seasons.
“The first obstacle is finding a right side that can jump high enough,” said Wheaton North coach Justin Hineman, explaining the quandary of trying to defend Burgdorf. “Then, the issue is closing the line so she doesn’t send a missile at your right back. If you can clear those two hurdles, Haley’s offensive toolbox still keeps you incredibly off-balance. She can beat you with power and sees the court so incredibly well that her off-speed shots are just as effective. You can’t deter her in serve-receive either, making her a true all-around player.”
“Her versatility to attack various sets to anywhere on the court makes it hard to stop,” St. Charles East coach Lynnette Summins said. “Her contact point of attack with her ability to see seams in the block leaves the defense not sure what to expect.”
Burgdorf, a 6-foot outside hitter, finished with 443 kills, 52 aces and 198 digs this season, on her way to being named to the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association Class 4A all-state first team and being the repeat MVP of the DuKane Conference. She leaves North with the career records for kills (1,658), digs (758) and service aces (162). Burgdorf now ranks in the Top 15 all-time in Illinois for career kills and in the Top 10 all-time in the state for most kills in a single season.
“Haley is quick, powerful and intelligent on the court with an impressive ability to disguise her next move until the very last moment, keeping defenses guessing,” Glenbard North coach Carrie McCann said. “She can hit around the block with precision and uses smart tooling when needed. Even though it was always a challenge to play against her, it was a joy to watch all that she can do. Her combination of skill, grit and strategic play makes her a true standout.”
“I’m very excited she’s graduating,” said Glenbard West coach Dan Scott, whose team played North each of the last 4 years. “Haley is naturally gifted. She jumps effortlessly and can touch well over 10 feet. She also has rare arm talent that allows her to hit a ball 5-10 miles per hour faster than the average varsity volleyball player. She has a short memory. She wants the ball every play and wants to get a kill any way she can. If she makes an error, it is instantly forgotten and she comes back swinging just as aggressively the next point. Penn State is getting a good one.”
North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins said Burgdorf has the “it” factor.
“The thing that makes her tick and urges her to keep pushing through one more rep, one more lifting session, etc. It’s the thing that doesn’t allow her to back down from any opponent and gives her a tenacity in how she approaches every practice, let alone every match. It’s the thing that keeps her intrinsically motivated and hungry for more, despite whatever awards she’s already won or accolades she has received. The ‘it’ factor is something not every athlete has, especially high school athletes, but Haley has always had it.”
Burgdorf, who will graduate after the first semester and report to Penn State in early January (she mentioned studying accounting and possibly business), said she got better this season by reaching deeper into her bag of tricks.
“Last year, I was kill-happy, swinging at every ball,” she said. “I mixed up my shots more. I don’t think I’ve done anything too different except our offense was spread out more with Sidney (Wright, 222 kills) Brynn (Hopkins, middle) Amber (Czerniak, 163 kills)and Ellie (Sutter, middle). That helped me get open a lot more. I understood this season that I didn’t need to get every ball and I could definitely count on my teammates to get a ball, take a swing and get a point. Last year, it was more of me and this year the team did their thing. It was amazing to see that and watch all the girls improve so much.”
And now it’s off to the land of Happy Valley and the opportunity to play for one of the most storied NCAA Division I women’s volleyball programs ever and now helmed by former Chicago Mother McAuley standout Katie Schumacher-Cawley.
“I am so excited to welcome Haley to the Penn State volleyball family,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “Haley is a dynamic, high-IQ six-rotation outside hitter. Her competitiveness, passion for the game and commitment to excellence make her a perfect fit to wear the blue and white.”
Burgdorf can’t believe how quickly her high school time went by and the fact she’s going to play at Penn State.
“I am going to miss this, but I am also ready for the next chapter and to expand my abilities and my skills a bit more,” she said. “I will miss coach Hawk and coach Henry (Graack) and all the girls I played with. I am sad to see it all go away, but I can’t wait for Penn State. It’s mind blowing and crazy that I will get to play for coach Katie. I’m setting my expectations high. Who would have thought this is where I would end up?”