Don’t get the wrong idea — Oak Forest’s Natalia Covarrubias loves to play basketball.
A couple of NCAA Division III programs are looking at her for that sport. It appears basketball will be her future, but for Covarrubias, the pressure gets turned off when she’s on the volleyball court.
“I love volleyball because it’s such a fun sport to play,” she said. “It’s stress free, and I love the girls and the team. It shows more of my identity. My growth has definitely increased since my freshman year. It makes me happy to play here and there is less stress.
“In basketball, I am expected to always play well.”
The 5-foot-10 junior middle hitter played pretty well Wednesday night, coming through with a team-high four kills as the host Bengals earned a 25-21, 25-16 victory over Reavis in a South Suburban Conference crossover match.
Sophomore middle hitter Iris Nesby contributed three kills and a block for Oak Forest (7-16, 5-6). Junior setter Betty Redican added two kills and two aces. Lily Fish led Reavis (9-12, 4-7) with seven kills, including six in the first game. She also had two aces.
Due to numerous hitting errors, the kill totals weren’t overwhelming, but Oak Forest ended up with an 18-11 edge. Entering Wednesday, Kynzie Oliver led the Bengals for the year with 67 kills.
Given that there is no traditional go-to hitter this season, Redican has to improvise every match for Oak Forest. And that’s where Covarrubias came into the picture Wednesday.
“I usually go with the hot hand — whoever is getting the most kills for me,” Redican said. “Natalia was the one with the hot hand.”
Oak Forest coach Josh Balinao has been mixing and matching his middles between Covarrubias, Nesby and Ava Munoz. He called the trio the “pillars” of the offense.
Against Reavis, it was Covarrubias’ turn to be the team’s standout.
“She brings a lot of size and gets a high reach on the ball,” Balinao said of Covarrubias. “There is a lot of technique we can work on, but this is my first year coaching her.
“We’re getting more and more in system and in tempo with everything that I think we can get to as the season progresses.”
Oak Forest is also hoping to improve as a team as the regular season winds down. At one point, the Bengals had a 3-14 record, but they have gone 4-3 since, building up their confidence.
“It’s been a rough season,” Redican said. “We need to work on passing more. We need to work on serve receive. It’s definitely progressed from the beginning of the season and you see that.
“And we are getting our energy up.”
Covarrubias confirmed that improved energy can help turn things around.
“We need to play together as a team and not as singular players,” she said. “We need to have that energy to keep our teammates up and not let (opponents) get in our heads.”
Covarrubias, who has drawn interest from Millikin and Lakeland, started playing basketball in seventh grade. She plays center for the Illinois Defenders during the AAU travel season.
For Oak Forest, she has been asked to mix it up, playing both center and guard.
She actually started out playing volleyball as a freshman at Oak Forest because she wanted something to do in the fall. Some friends also encouraged her to come out for the team.
“I love being occupied, so my freshman year, I thought I could try it out,” Covarrubias said. “I started really loving it. I would really like to try club volleyball, but I just don’t know where basketball will take me.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.