Champlin Park setter Sydney Hilley could be spark to state

Pressure existed for Champlin Park freshman setter Sydney Hilley long before she made her varsity volleyball debut last week at ninth-ranked Roseville.

Her résumé created high expectations. As an eighth-grader, Hilley played on the Minnesota Select 16-1 club team with girls two years older. This summer she was one of two Minnesotans chosen for USA Volleyball's Select A1 High Performance team.

Hilley, the Rebels' six returning starters believed, could help send the program to its first state tournament since 2001.

"This is the year that we're supposed to be good," the 15-year-old Hilley said of the thoughts that fueled her pregame nerves. "We're supposed to maybe make it to state, and I don't want to let everyone down."

Two aces on her first three serves set a tone against the Raiders. Hilley made key serves, sets and kills throughout Champlin Park's 19-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-23 upset of Roseville.

"You could see she was nervous but it didn't overwhelm her," Rebels coach John Yunker said. "It hasn't been a secret; the girls have known about Sydney for a while and have been asking, 'When is she going to be here?' "

She almost wasn't.

"I was actually considering going to Osseo," she said. "A lot of my friends play there, but I like it here."

The feeling is mutual. Beyond Hilley's talents, Yunker said, she appears to possess the right temperament. Talented youngsters can disrupt chemistry just by taking an opportunity from an older player. But Yunker does not detect any acrimony.

Co-captain Mariya Sampson echoed Yunker's views, lauding Hilley for bringing "energy" to the program. Sampson defined energy as "a type of leadership. She'll get excited even when we're down. And say you don't get a kill the first time, she'll set you again until you get it."

Starting out as a setter "because I was the shortest girl on my team," Hilley said, she developed ball control and a rich understanding of the position. She grew three inches last year to 5-10 and blossomed on the national stage.

Playing with USA Volleyball's Select A1 High Performance team this summer helped Hilley grow as a player. She worked with Stacy Sykora, a 2008 Olympic silver medalist, and played matches against teams from Canada and the Dominican Republic. She gained confidence and brought it back to Champlin Park.

"She makes eye contact with the girls and tells them what they are going to run," Yunker said. "They say, 'OK fine,' and she delivers the ball. That sense of calm — you can talk about it all you want but you've got to have somebody on the court that is that way."

For all that Hilley brings as a setter, the Roseville match marked her first dual role, as she also played outside hitter. She struggled at times, committing an attack error that clinched the first game for Roseville. But she recovered in the fourth game with one tying and two go-ahead kills.

"When she gets more comfortable as a hitter she's going to be even more of a catalyst," Yunker said.

The Rebels must have teamwide improvement if they hope to realize their state tournament dreams. Such talk doesn't concern Yunker. He initiated it as something to challenge his proven players and a precocious freshman.

"We have a lot of work to do and nothing is guaranteed but we have the team where we can aim high," Yunker said. "Nothing against the kids we've had, but that isn't something we talked about my first two years here because we just weren't ready. But with this group, it's a little more realistic. We've taken another step and now we're able to dream a little bit bigger."