Evergreen Park seniors Ella Throndson and Shannon Farrell have seen it all in their high school careers.
They play volleyball in the fall and basketball in the winter.
Then, over the offseason, they’re working out together with the team.
So while a historic conference championship was big for the whole program, it was particularly special for the two senior team captains.
Host EP defeated Shepard 25-23, 24-26, 25-20 on Oct. 20 to clinch the South Suburban Red title outright.
It’s the program’s first conference title in 17 years.
“This was the best feeling we could ever imagine,” Farrell said. “Every year I’ve been here, our goal was to put a number on the board, whether it’s conference or regional. This one was so important because a lot of people didn’t have as much faith in us because how many people graduated and how young we were.”
Throndson (10 kills, three aces) and Farrell (five kills) led the way. Sophomores Brenna Hayes (22 assists, nine kills, eight digs) and Madison Majka (14 digs) and senior Mary Deenihan (six kills) also contributed.
“This means everything,” Throndson said. “It hasn’t been done since 2009. That was our birth year, me and Shannon. This is what we’ve been working for over the past four years. We finally did it our senior year, so that’s really exciting.”
After struggling down the stretch in the second set, EP raced out to a 12-5 lead in the third and never looked back.
Throndson had three kills, a block and an ace as part of a 7-1 run early.
She has battled a laundry list of adversity this year, from some asthma issues to walking pneumonia that caused her to miss a stretch and lastly, playing through an elbow injury.
“Oh my goodness, it’s never ending,” Throndson said with a laugh. “I wasn’t able to breathe in games. I had to sit out for a while. I’m playing through the injury though. It’s manageable.”
Farrell said she’s been beyond impressed with Throndson’s play.
“Ella surprises me every single game,” Farrell said. “She gets up so high (jumping). She got right back out there, never shows any pain on the court and is always able to dominate and do what she’s supposed to do.”
Coach Brian Zofkie said the team can always count on Throndson.
“Ella is pretty damn tough,” Zofkie said. “It’s the first thing that comes to mind with her. She comes in, works super hard and works every day on volleyball. She’s as tough as nails.”
Shepard was led by seniors Jenna Powers (eight kills, nine digs), Izzy Belsky (19 assists, block) and Kerry Wrobel (nine kills, nine digs) and sophomore Janiyah Martin (eight assists, four digs).
Coach Tess Rybowiak said she wants to believe in their talents.
“The girls can do hard things. They just have to play with more confidence,” Rybowiak said. “They do more tentative things because they’re afraid to make errors. When they don’t, it’s a different team. They make plays. Once they shift that in their brain, it’s a different mentality.”