St. Laurence senior Aubrey Martinez remembers the warnings all too clearly from her freshman season.
Enjoy high school. It goes quickly.
Martinez didn’t think much of it at the time. But as she navigated her senior year this fall, she couldn’t help but think back on the advice.
Martinez had 12 kills on Oct. 29 as St. Laurence defeated host Riverside-Brookfield 25-23, 26-24 in a Class 4A regional championship.
“When I was a freshman, I wasn’t expecting how fast high school really goes,” Martinez said. “It flew by so quick. It was because of volleyball. I love this program. It’s like my second home.”
St. Laurence (28-8 through last week) advanced to play Mother McAuley on Nov. 3 in an Argo Sectional semifinal.
In the regional title win, freshman Julia O’Keefe (30 assists), juniors Abby Ambrose (eight kills) and Peyton McDevitt (seven digs, two aces), sophomore Ellie Glenn (five kills) and senior Leah Romano (five digs) all chipped in.
Martinez is a four-year varsity starter for the Vikings. She is a Ball State recruit as a libero.
For St. Laurence though, she’s continued to develop as an all-around player, a six-rotation athlete who can contribute every which way to a win.
“I have a lot of chances to help the team,” Martinez said. “Especially hitting from the back row, front row, hitting different shots. I love it and doing that all-around play. I want to get every kill and make sure the team succeeds.”
Coach Ellen Yopchick said Martinez has taken big steps with her mental approach on top of her impressive athletic abilities.
“Aubrey doesn’t get frazzled by mistakes anymore,” Yopchick said. “As a freshman and sophomore, it was always trying to play perfect volleyball. It’s getting that mentality ‘There’s a next play!’ She just loves playing volleyball. When she plays, you see how passionate she is.”
Since St. Laurence went co-ed in 2017, the volleyball program has won a regional title every year, including 2025 and 2026 in Class 4A.
“It’s the hard work we put in just being in the gym throughout the season,” Martinez said. “We’re ready for these moments, especially in the playoffs. We know we want to win and make it to the big stage.”
Senior MacKenzie Sloger led R-B (25-12) with 12 kills.
Senior Asha Ponnappan (four kills, block), junior Demetra Foster (three kills) and sophomores Sage Roldan (eight digs), Elsie Crist (19 assists, two kills), Ivana Zaper (five kills) and Ella Wilkowski (two blocks) all contributed for the Bulldogs.
Coach Caitlin Staib-Lipinski said she saw the program take some major strides forward, especially with a young team featuring plenty of talented sophomores.
“We’ve had some rebuilding years. It’s my fifth year coaching here,” Staib-Lipinski said. “It’s taken time, but we’re in a good place. We never gave up this season. We played some really hard teams and beat some really hard teams. We earned everything. Nothing was handed to us.”