The Prairie Ridge High girls volleyball team is expecting a lot these days.
Sure, with an 21-0 record, it’s only natural for the No. 4 Wolves to expect to win the Fox Valley Conference championship, win their regional and ultimately earn a berth to the state tournament.
But in the more immediate future, the Wolves are expecting a different kind of berth. In three weeks, Prairie Ridge coach Stefanie Otto, 32, is expected to give birth to her third child.
If the happy event should begin during a game–Otto’s official due date is Oct. 26–“I tell the team all they have to do, no matter what’s going on with me on the bench, whether it’s contractions or my water breaks, just concentrate on the match,” she said.
For Maggie Haen and Kelly Milborn, both four-year starters for Otto, this is nothing new. When they were freshmen, Otto was also pregnant during the season. But then, Otto was only in her first trimester while coaching, not well into her third trimester.
“She talked with us about it,” said Haen, a 5-foot-9-inch outside hitter who has started every Prairie Ridge girls volleyball match since the school’s inception three years ago. “She said whatever happens, she expects us to stay focused.”
So far, Otto’s pregnancy has not been a distraction. The Wolves have gone undefeated through an arduous schedule that included two tournament championships–the Glenbard West and Prairie Ridge tournaments–and have beaten five state-ranked teams.
Rest assured, though, if Otto had her say, she would have done things differently.
“This would not be my ideal situation,” she said. “February or January or March would have been much better. But somebody else had different plans for me. I kind of panicked when I first found out.
“I’m very excited, but it’s just bad timing.”
It’s bad timing because Otto knew coming into the season she had a juggernaut of a team.
Returning from last year’s squad that went 30-9 and lost in the supersectionals to Mundelein in three games are four starters, including four-year letter-winners Haen and Milborn. Joining the senior duo are returners Stephanie Obermeier, a 5-foot-9 sophomore outside hitter who was the team’s setter last year, and Katie O’Riordan, a 5-foot-10 junior setter.
Junior back row specialist Amy Benson, 5-foot-11 senior middle blocker Karen Hanawalt and junior outside hitter Stephanie Swierenga are also major contributors.
“I didn’t know if we’d be undefeated, but I did think we would have few losses,” said Otto, who has a 105-26 record at Prairie Ridge. “It’s been very nice to have the kids play the way they have.”
The Wolves have already surpassed their school record for consecutive wins, from when they started the season 16-0 two years ago.
“I knew we were going to be a tough team to beat this year,” said Milborn, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker. “We’re a lot deeper this year. I think we play more as a team.”
There’s a reason Prairie Ridge plays well together. Before the season, Otto made it a point to do several team functions together, like going on a retreat to work on team-building and problem-solving. They also went to the University of Wisconsin last summer for team camp.
Haen said the team functions have paid dividends. Take the match against Crystal Lake South.
The Wolves fell behind in both games two weeks ago–6-0 in the first and 8-2 in the second game–and each time, they put together devastating rallies to win easily, 15-8 and 15-9. Last Tuesday, Prairie Ridge took a step closer to winning the Fox Valley Conference championship when they handed rival Cary-Grove its first conference loss, 15-9, 7-15, 15-12.
As the season progresses and the wins continue to mount, the Wolves realize teams will be gunning for them.
“It’s exciting,” Milborn said. “We know the bull’s-eye on our back keeps getting bigger.”
“We know people are gunning for us,” Otto said. “But we really don’t talk about being undefeated.”
