The end came earlier than expected for Burlington Central and its standout hitter Stephanie Holthus, but the early exit from the state playoffs did not diminish an outstanding season for the Rocket senior.
Burlington Central was eliminated from the Class 3A regional by Sycamore 25-12, 17-25, 25-23 on Thursday, ending the season for Holthus and her Rocket teammates. Burlington Central finished the season 26-10 and missed out on a chance to return to the state 3A championships, where it finished second to Catholic Academy of Joliet last year. 
Stephanie Holthus, Burlington Central
Courtesy photo
Just as she was last year, Holthus was a major force behind the success of the Rockets this season.
"Last season, Stephanie raised her game to a new level during our state playoff run," said Burlington Central coach Marv Leavitt. "Our school had never gone beyond the third round of the state playoffs. Stephanie did it all for us in our surprising journey to the state championship match. She was lights-out in the back row."
During that run, she went 37-for-37 in serve receive in one sectional match and averaged nearly 18 spike kills and three aces per match. This year, Holthus converted over 50 percent of her kill attempts and had 417 kills heading into the match with Sycamore. She also had 92 aces and 212 digs for the Rockets. As a junior, she had 525 kills, 279 digs, 73 aces and 65 blocks.
Holthus was recently named the Daily Herald Fox Valley All-Area player of the year. She was also all-state by the Chicago Sun Times last year and was the Daily Courier News player of the year as a junior. While Holthus’ high school career has come to a close, her college career will soon begin. She will sign with Northwestern University this fall and is looking forward to the competition at the next level.
"I am looking forward to it more than I can say," Holthus said. "I am excited about the level of competition, coaching and just being around teammates who love volleyball as much as I do."
Holthus looks back on her career and counts many memories among her favorites. In June of 2008, her club team, Fusion 16 Black, won the JVDA championship, coming back from two games down to win the title. She then played in the state championship game with Burlington Central and then played for coach Jim Stone on the USA Youth National Team in Europe in December of last year. Holthus capped her summer season in July by being named captain of the USA High Performance Youth Red team in Fort Lauderdale and winning a gold medal.
Holthus credits her success to her positive attitude and her competitiveness. She also has some athletic genes in her family. Her father Craig Holthus played baseball at Bradley University, and her sisters Staci and Christine have both been active in sports at the club and college level.
"From early on it was very apparent that Stephanie was a very talented volleyball player," Leavitt said. "When she first entered our gym as a 13-year old incoming freshman, she was already a complete player who was as adept in the back row as a passer as she was in the front row as a hitter. What was amazing for me to watch was to see how smart she was as a hitter at such a young age. Stephanie was able to use both a power and finesse game when spiking – something that usually takes many years to develop in a varsity athlete."
Holthus’ skills were not limited to the volleyball court. Like her father, Stephanie also excelled on the diamond.
"I played softball from the time I could throw. I played fastpitch softball until my freshman year in high school," she said. "One of the hardest things I ever did was tell the varsity softball coach that I had decided not to play softball so that I could put all my focus into volleyball. I cried, then went straight to volleyball practice, got right on the court and never looked back. To this day, there is no place I would rather be than a volleyball court. For me it was the right decision."
Holthus follows a regular training regimen with a personal trainer during club season to stay in shape, working out at the YMCA when she has extra time.
"Sleep is also very important to me," she said. "I take naps and get to bed early whenever I can."
Getting a good night’s rest is not the only advice Holthus has for aspiring volleyball players.
"Always, always follow your dreams. Never stop learning. Always keep raising the bar," she said. "Challenge yourself, work hard on and off the court, but always smile and love what you do."
