The Great Solid Marist Wall - Abby Callahan

Marist Junior Abby Callahan (#5) becomes the “Solid Marist Wall” with her defensive-intensive speed skills

Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune

Everyone knows in the sports world that when a team advances closer and closer to the finals, the closer the matches also tend to be while becoming very intensive.

Jordan Vidovic, a Marist volleyball coach, has a good grasp for what might make the ultimate difference as the RedHawks begin their quest for a potential Class 4A state championship.

“At this point you’re looking for players to add a point here or there,” Vidovic said. “You know you’re going to need them in games that are going to be tight.”

Marist is lucky to have Junior Abby Callahan, who is considered to be a good candidate to fill that need. The 5-foot-9 middle hitter has been a solid complement to big hitters like both Maggie Meyer and Savannah Thompson. This season, Callahan alone has an impressive 153 kills and 36 blocks.

Just recently in a match between Kansas powerhouse St. James, she comfortably had nine kills and three blocks with ease. Coach Vidovic has this to say on his thoughts about the past recent matches.

“Abby gave us that little extra element,” said Vidovic. “We needed it in Kansas and also against Benet the other night.”

With the RedHawks having Callahan on their side leading their team to victory, she is respectably unique in her own right of talent. The RedHawks will be hosting their 4A regional starting Tuesday and is expected to be a great match according to Coach Vidovic.

Though Callahan may be the MVP from Marist, she is only player on the Marist roster who doesn’t play in club volleyball.

“I played club volleyball in seventh and eighth grade,” Callahan said. “But freshman year it was going to be hard to play club volleyball and high school basketball at the same time. I know all the others play club, but I think all the skills from basketball definitely helped me with volleyball.”

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune reporter, Coach Vidovic claimed proudly that Callahan’s firebrand known talents are her vertical jumps and speed level.

“Abby can really spread the court for us,” he said. “She goes behind the settler really well. She runs sets faster just because of her athletic ability. That goes along with being a standout basketball player. She just has a knack for knowing what to do. It doesn’t always look as smooth, but Abby will score points just with her instinct. She doesn’t hesitate on things.”