During the club season, St. Laurence’s Aubrey Martinez is a libero.
In 2027, when she heads to Ball State, she will be a libero.
But for her high school team? Martinez is in charge of the heavy hitting.
“Club and high school are two different worlds,” Vikings coach Ellen Yopchick said of Martinez, who plays at 1st Alliance. “In club, she stepped up and took over a position her team needed.
“But that’s not a disservice to her attacking skills. She’s fully capable of playing a full six rotations.”
Martinez, a 5-foot-9 junior outside hitter, was fully capable Saturday when she was named MVP of the 16-team Spartan Classic at Oak Lawn after leading St. Laurence to the tournament title.
In the final, Martinez tallied 17 kills and three aces to lead the Vikings (15-6) to a 25-18, 25-16 victory over Lincoln-Way West, which beat St. Laurence in two games to open the season.
“This showed just how far we have some from the beginning of the season,” Martinez said.
St. Laurence also took down the Warriors 25-23, 25-14 last year at Oak Lawn, winning the first regular-season tournament in program history. Now, the Vikings are making a habit of it.
Sophomore middle Clancey Bowen and sophomore outside Abby Ambrose added six kills apiece in the finale for St. Laurence. Kara Stigter paced Lincoln-Way West (12-9) with seven kills.
Martinez, meanwhile, has been collecting kills in bunches for the Vikings, thanks in part to also being a dangerous back-row attacker.
“She’s the hardest worker I know,” Bowen said of Martinez. “Even when she’s playing libero, she’s taking private hitting lessons.”
For the season, Martinez has 224 kills, 115 digs and 31 aces. She has started on the varsity since her freshman year and entered the week with 702 career kills.
She started in volleyball at age 3 and watched sister Natalie play. The two then were teammates at St. Laurence. Natalie is now a freshman libero at Milwaukee School of Engineering.
“I admire her personality, and she’s who I want to be like as a person and as a player,” Aubrey said of her sister. “When I transitioned to a libero, I looked up to her on how to get better.
“She told me I have to stay calm and collected on the court and that one mistake doesn’t define the whole game.”
Martinez’s mother, Jennifer, also had a hand in developing Aubrey’s all-around game. Jennifer played in high school at Immaculate Heart of Mary and also coached at 1st Alliance.
As a result, St. Laurence has put together three monster seasons, winning Class 3A sectional titles before losing in the supersectional round. But the Vikings have been bumped up to 4A.
The road to state gets even harder as the postseason path will likely including reigning Class 4A state champion Marist and traditional powerhouse Mother McAuley standing in the way.
The Vikings, however, sound like they are relishing the challenge.
“We’ve been saying that any team can beat any team on any given day,” Bowen said. “We’re putting in a lot of work and it’s showing. We played Loyola, a 4A team, and they beat us by two points in the third set. We played them point for point.”
The Ramblers, indeed, escaped Burbank on Sept. 11 with a 23-25, 25-18, 27-25 win. Seven days later, Loyola stunned Mother McAuley 25-20, 25-16.
“I’m always a person who looks forward to a challenge,” Martinez said of bumping up a class. “I feel like every team is beatable. I’m excited that we’re in 4A. I think it’s a well-deserved thing for our team, especially this team now.
“We’re all working together, and I feel like we’ll do very well when the playoffs get here.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
