Some interviews take interesting and fun twists.
That was certainly the case when I talked about making snowmen with Joliet Catholic sophomore Olivia Chovanec — and about reincarnation with her mother Marissa, who is Lockport’s softball coach.
We’ll get into that, but first here’s an update on a new Southland girls volleyball standout to watch this weekend at the state finals.
Olivia Chovanec, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, will enter Friday’s Class 3A semifinal match against Wheaton St. Francis with a team-leading 222 kills and 61 aces.
She’s come a long way from being a JV player as a freshman.
“I don’t think I could have imagined this a year ago,” Chovanec said. “Just you saying that, it’s still hard to believe. But good passes, good sets and the coaches helped make it happen.”
I’m thinking that a willingness to accept, listen and learn helped as well.
I remember watching Chovanec at the Asics Challenge when she was pulled by Angels coach Kisha Cameron during a match against Kentucky powerhouse Assumption.
“At Asics, especially because she’s not a big outside hitter, I think confidence could have been an issue,” Cameron said. “Early on, she struggled with kids that were bigger and more experienced.”
Chovanec didn’t disagree.
“Assumption was a big, talked about school,” Chovanec said. “We were all … I was definitely a little nervous, and I think it did get to me a bit. At the beginning of the season, I was more timid.”
It’s all different now. Wheaton St. Francis (28-12) has some tall blockers, including 6-foot-2 Addy Horner and 6-6 Jess Schmidt, but they won’t be intimidating to Chovanec or Joliet Catholic (23-17).
“She doesn’t care if it’s a 6-3 girl or a senior, she’s going to go up and swing,” Cameron said. “You can see it in her posture. She’s fearless. She has definitely taken her game up a notch.”
OK, now let’s get into the snowmen and reincarnation.
I found it fascinating that Chovanec’s sole focus is on playing volleyball. Her sister, Noelle, played softball at Joliet Catholic and at Denison.
Her mom, Marissa, has been the softball coach at Lockport since 2003. Her Porters have made two state appearances, winning it all in 2004 in Class AA.
Olivia played a smidgen of softball at an early age, but mom didn’t push it. Olivia was more into gymnastics, reaching Level 8 before a growth spurt sent her in another direction.
It wasn’t the softball diamond.
“When she gave up gymnastics, she was like, ‘Mom, I want to do volleyball,'” Marissa said. “So, we went up to Sports Performance, and that’s where she has been training.
“She just isn’t an outside sport person. She was dragged around to watch Noelle in softball and her brother in baseball and football. Whether it was too cold or if she just didn’t want to do what her older siblings did, who knows?”
The best explanation would be, it was a little bit of this and that.
“I’m definitely an indoor sport person,” Olivia said “My dad coached me in softball, but it never really was for me. I don’t like the cold.”
That’s when I asked about snowmen.
“Oh, no, in the winter, I can go play in the snow and build snowmen,” she said, laughing. “But just playing softball in cold weather, I don’t know.”
That’s more than OK with mom. Actually, it’s turned into a blessing.
“With Noelle, I got to see her play twice in high school, the two times they played against us,” Marissa said. “So, it has been very nice to see Olivia play volleyball.
“When I come back reincarnated, I’m going to be a volleyball coach or a volleyball player. I love the sport.”
