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Sports

Downers North Grad Lally Takes Her Game to the Next Level at North Central

Sophomore already has been named CCIW Defensive Player/Setter of the Week twice this season.

Although she made Downers North's varsity volleyball squad her sophomore year, Ryan Lally didn't see much playing time with the Trojans until her senior season. And, even then, she split setting duties with a teammate.

But Lally is making up for lost time at North Central College in Naperville, where she's become a centerpiece in the Cardinals' lineup as the team's starting setter.

Earlier this season, Lally, a sophomore, was named MVP of the Gordon College Invitational (Wehman, Mass.) after leading the Cardinals to the tourney title. And the accolades have kept rolling in.

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She's already been named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's Defensive Player/Setter of the Week twice—most recently for the week of Sept. 20-26. That week, she piled up 196 assists, seven service aces and 53 digs while also being selected to the Wheaton College Invitational's all-tournament team.

In 2009, Lally earned second team all-CCIW honors after recording 1,235 assists—the sixth-highest single-season total in school history.

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"I thought it was very exciting," Lally said of collecting her '09 CCIW honors. "I'm lucky to come in as a freshman and have that opportunity present itself for me. It encouraged me to come in for the next couple of years and excel even more."

To close out last month, Lally posted a single-match career-high in assists with 56 during the Cardinals' CCIW victory over Illinois Wesleyan University.

"I was really excited to get that far," she said. "It was really an exciting night for me. It was great that our team got the win, and exciting to reach that goal for myself."

Lally has assumed more of a leadership role this season after the Cardinals lost a handful of key players to graduation, Many of them helped lift North Central to a sparkling 35-5 record in 2009 and a trip to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Regional Championships.

"I feel that (because) we lost our libero (Stephanie Ryding), and a couple of seniors graduated, I have to be more vocal and be more of a leader this year," Lally said. "I tried to do that last year, but as a freshman, I was a little nervous. It's a little easier this year because I know the girls. It's a good way to help out."

Lally said getting an opportunity to play in the NCAA regionals "was great."

"It's something I wasn't expecting coming in," said Lally, whose younger sister, Katy, is a senior at Downers North and competes for the Trojans' cross country and track teams. "It was a great experience that I had my freshman year, and I hope to have that experience again a few more times before I graduate."

The Cardinals received an at-large bid to the tourney last year because of their record, but they'll likely have to win the CCIW tournament later this season if they hope to return to the NCAAs. (The winner of the CCIW tourney gets an automatic bid to the Division III tournament.)

So far, the Cardinals have been hovering around. 500, or just above that mark.

"We were able to make it to NCAA tourney last year, so it's a goal for us to make it again this year," Lally said. "We haven't had as great of a start as we had hoped for, but winning our last match (versus Illinois Wesleyan) gives us momentum to push through for these next matches (on the schedule)."

With a year of experience under her belt, Lally said she is more acclimated to college volleyball, in general, and the speed of the game, in particular.

"It's not that it's easier," she said. "It's not as scary as it was last year. Just knowing your team and your opponents, having that experience, makes it easier that way. It's a different level of playing. Fitness-wise you have to be in better shape. It's much more fast-paced and more competitive."

One of Lally's former teammates at Downers North, Sarah Eggert, joined the Cardinals as a freshman this year and has taken over at libero. Lally likes the progress Eggert is making.

"She's come in and stepped it up," Lally said. "She's doing a good job of keeping the position. She's earned her way there."

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