By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Kelly Murphy, a 6-2 senior at Joliet (Ill.) Catholic Academy, is such a talented volleyball player that she is rated No. 1 in the nation both as a setter and right-side hitter.
"As a setter, she's long and smart with developing hands and a devastating left-handed attack on the second contact," John Tawa of PrepVolleyball.com said. "As a hitter, on the right side, she's virtually unblockable, combining great power, vision and fearlessness to score down the line or in the seam.
"She's a quiet leader, but don't mistake that for timidity. She's as intense and competitive as they come."
Murphy can't recall a day in which she wasn't involved with volleyball in some way. Her mother, Sandy, was a high school and college volleyball player and was coaching at Wilmington, Ill., when Kelly was born.
"I always went to practice with her," the Joliet star pointed out.
When Kelly was five years old, she demonstrated a tenacity that surprised even her parents. Her father, Scott, recalled, "She was doing cartwheels in the living room and her mom kept yelling for her to stop. She tried two (instead of the normal one) and hit her foot on the brick fireplace. Her mom asked her, `Did you learn a lesson?'
"She replied, `Yeah, you can only do one cartwheel in the room.' She was always pushing and wanted to be challenged. She is a tad bit embarrassed by all the (national) attention."
As a fifth grader, she began playing for Wilmington St. Rose and the Uno Volleyball Club in Joliet. She was a natural from the first day. She also dabbled in soccer, basketball and softball, but concentrated solely on volleyball after eighth grade.
Murphy began receiving state and national attention as a freshman at Joliet Catholic Academy. Coach Christine Scheibe noted, "We had our eye on her from the beginning, because she was head and shoulders above kids in her age group."
She stepped in as an immediate starter because the Angels had lost eight seniors through graduation the previous year. She finished her first varsity campaign with 212 kills, 130 assists and 37 service aces for a 26-12 team.
Furthermore she became a huge crowd favorite. "We have a great following for volleyball," Scheibe pointed out, "and they get vocal at times. We have packed gyms. Whenever she got a kill, the crowd would yell, `She's a freshman!' ''
The summer after her freshman year, she made all-tourney as her club team placed third in the nationals.
Tenth grade was even bigger as her high school team placed fourth in the Class AA state tournament with a 36-7 record. She finished with 359 kills, 270 assists and 57 aces. Her club team - Sports Performance of Aurora - won the National Junior Olympics (age 16-and-under) in Atlanta, Ga. She was such a major force that she was named MVP.
During her junior year, the Angels compiled a 37-6 record and moved up to third place in the state tournament. She had 353 kills, 496 assists and 81 aces in her first full season as the No. 1 setter.
How hard does she hit? "She knocked a girl out one time last year," Scheibe said. "She just cranked on the ball and hit a girl on the head. She was out for a couple seconds."
The following summer "was crazy," Murphy described. Her club team won the nationals (18-and-under) again in Minneapolis, Minn., and she repeated as MVP.
"This one (her second MVP award) felt good, because it was the highest you can go and the competition was harder," Murphy said.
Then there was the matter of the USA Junior National Olympic team which competed in Thailand and placed fourth in the Junior World Tournament. She and another Illinois player, Colleen Ward of Naperville North, were the only high school members.
Murphy is much more than a volleyball player. She carries a 4.3 GPA (on a 4.0 scale), with English being her favorite subject. Scheibe says her teenage star has a talent for writing and "knows every rap song and artist that sings it." She is a member of the Spanish National Honor Society, Varsity Club and Student Ambassadors. She loves to download music and says that rap "just punks me out."
As a senior she would like to win the Class AA state title and repeating as national champ "would be pretty sweet."
Murphy's ranking as the nation's No. 1 player doesn't faze Scheibe, who says, "I'm not going to disagree with that. She is an amazing force to be reckoned with. She controls the game as a setter, she has a wicked jump serve and there is not a position that people can discount her in."
The humble Joliet star concedes, "It definitely is an honor. I like to think so. There is pressure sometimes. When we have a close game, everyone expects you to be the one to go to."
Sometime this fall, Murphy will choose a college from among Stanford, Florida, Texas and Michigan State. Whoever wins that lottery will inherit a volleyball franchise for the next four years.
Football Notes
* Demont Buice of Gadsden Gaston tied an Alabama state record by scoring eight touchdowns during a 74-20 rout of Collinsville. He carried just 16 times for 338 yards.Another Alabama standout, Springville quarterback Seth Baker, completed 20-of-29 passes for a school-record 502 yards and six touchdowns en route to a 54-34 triumph over Jasper Curry.
* Turning to Kansas, sensational Wichita East junior Bryce Brown ran for 312 yards on a mere seven carries (44.5 average) and scored five touchdowns during a 69-0 thrashing of Wichita West. East also forced nine turnovers.
* Adam Crump scored on kick-off returns of 95 and 90 yards and on an 80-yard punt return but Central (Macon, Ga.) still suffered a 33-28 loss to Henry County.Senior wide receiver Patrick Collins also had a huge game as Kettering (Detroit, Mich.) raced past city foe Chadsey, 57-0. He scored on punt returns of 84, 75 and 55 yards, a 60-yard pass and a 29-yard run.
* In Texas, Lindale forced four turnovers and upset Van, 48-28. Senior running back Jermie Calhoun, who has made a commitment to Oklahoma, scored all four of the losers' touchdowns and had to play quarterback during the second half after the starter, Blake Cunningham, injured his arm. Calhoun completed 6-of-10 passes for 103 yards and ran for 131 yards.
* Portland Jesuit's dominance in Oregon could be coming to an end. Lake Oswego blanked Jesuit, 21-0, to snap a 28-game winning streak, which included the last two Class 6A state championships. The Lakers dominated in yardage (381-179) and first downs (23-10) while handing the Crusaders their first shutout since 1990. Pacing the winners was 5-8, 165-pound senior tailback Zach Young, a Lakeridge transfer, who rushed 31 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
* Hawaii prep expert Pat Bigold believes that Honolulu Damien Memorial senior running back Kama Bailey is "flying under the radar" at this time. College recruiters take note. The 5-9, 175-pound senior ran 60 times for 705 yards (11.75 average) in his first four games this season. Bailey, who ran for 1,570 yards as a junior, also carries a 3.5 GPA.
* Ohio's No. 1 team, Cincinnati St. Xavier, defeated Kentucky's No. 1, Louisville Trinity, 47-31, to break a 16-game winning streak.Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City, Okla.) intercepted six passes during a 62-0 rout of city foe Millwood.In Virginia, Virginia Beach Salem edged city foe Bayside, 19-12, by holding highly-regarded senior quarterback E.J. Manuel to 6-of-17 passing for 70 yards.
* No. 3-ranked Chicago Mt. Carmel is making big waves in Illinois. The Caravan defeated state No. 1-ranked Chicago St. Rita, 35-19, before a packed house of 8,500 on Friday. Earlier Mt. Carmel had defeated Joliet Catholic Academy, which at the time was ranked No. 2.
* Cathedral (Los Angeles, Calif.) junior receiver Randall Carroll has made a commitment to the University of Southern California. He finished third in the state 100-meters as a sophomore in 10.52 seconds.Butler (Matthews, N.C.) senior quarterback Jacob Charest (6-4, 192) has made a commitment to the University of Illinois.
Football Coaching Notes
* Legendary Larry Campbell became the fourth-winningest prep football coach in history when Lincoln County (Lincolnton, Ga.) defeated Washington-Wilkes, 32-0. Campbell passed Pete Adkins of Jefferson City, Mo., and is within range of No. 3 G.A. Moore Jr., a Texan who has 412 wins.
* Bill Castle earned his 300th victory when Lakeland (Fla.) blanked South Dade of Homestead, 30-0. Castle, who has 72 losses, is No. 6 in Florida history.Kent Wigle collected his 300th victory when Marshfield (Coos Bay, Ore.) defeated Klamath Union, 33-15. He is the No. 2 winner in Oregon history.
* In New Jersey, coach Joe Frappolli tied the South Jersey record with victory No. 230 as Florence defeated Maple Shade, 46-0. The 60-year-old coach has a career record of 230-99-5 since 1974.
* Washington Hall of Fame coach Terry Ennis died last week following a five-year battle with prostate cancer. The 63-year-old Ennis, who was head coach at Archbishop Murphy (Everett, Wash.), won 287 games (No. 2 in state history) and three state titles during his 36-year career. He has been succeeded by his brother-in-law, Rick Stubrud.
* One of the nation's finest coaches, Tony Severino, underwent knee surgery Saturday and will be relegated to working from the press box Friday night when Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.) takes on Liberty. A runner was driven out of bounds during last week's game against Blue Springs and while attempting to avoid a collision - though there was no contact - Severino suffered a freakish knee injury.
Basketball Notes
* NBA veteran Shane Battier was honored recently when his uniform number 55 was retired by Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) during a 90-minute ceremony. The only other Country Day graduate to receive this honor was Chris Webber. The 29-year-old Battier, who got only one "B" during his high school days, won the coveted Naismith Award as a senior.
* Old Dominion has received a commitment from Nansemond River (Suffolk, Va.) power forward Nick Wright. The 6-8, 206-pounder averaged a highly-impressive 13.8 rebounds and 6.5 blocks for a 25-3 team as a junior.Derek Elston, a 6-8 junior from Tipton (Ind.), has made a commitment to Indiana University. The son of former North Carolina and ABA player Darrell Elston, Derek averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds as sophomore.
Cross Country Notes
* A new sheriff burst onto the western scene when unheralded Kevin Williams of D'Evelyn (Denver, Colo.) ran a better time than one of the leading Foot Locker favorites, Ben Johnson, during the 30th annual Liberty Bell Invitational in Littleton, Colo. Williams won Division III in 14:51.1, which bettered the course record by 7.3 seconds. Meanwhile New Mexico star Johnson won Division I in 14:52.5, leading Albuquerque Academy to the team title with 57 points.
* In Rhode Island, Wood River Junction Chariho stunned North Kingstown, 23-26. North Kingstown had won 96 consecutive dual meets over the past 10 years.
Volleyball Notes
* Ohio's top two volleyball teams - both from Cincinnati - tangled last week in a marathon match with No. 2 Mercy defeating No. 1 Mount Notre Dame, 25-15, 24-26, 25-17, 24-26, 15-9. Six-foot Missy Harpenau paced the victors with 33 kills, while 6-2 Rachael Adams led the losers with 27 kills. They teamed the past summer to lead Team Z Volleyball Club to the National Junior Olympics championship.
* Dennis Ray recorded his 500th volleyball coaching victory recently at Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.). He currently is in his 31st year of coaching.
Potpourri
* Europe defeated the USA, 14-10, to win the PING Junior Solheim Cup in Bastad, Sweden. The only American golfer to win all three of her matches was rising star Kristen Park, an eighth grader from Buena Park, Calif.
* Shawn Johnson was named "Person of the Week" by ABC World News. Just a sophomore at Valley Southwoods (West Des Moines, Iowa), Johnson was honored for winning all-around and floor exercise titles at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
