Before she made it official, Joliet Catholic coach Emily Brown went above and beyond before promoting freshman Ella Horn to the varsity.
She asked Horn’s mom if it was OK.
“I wanted to make sure she thought it was appropriate to bring her up with a bunch of girls that were a lot older,” Brown said. “And she said, ‘Absolutely. Give her a challenge.’ Mother knows best.”
She certainly didn’t have to ask Ella twice.
“Oh, no,” Horn said, laughing. “I knew it would be really fun. I enjoy playing at a high pace.”
She was more than worthy Thursday night for the host Angels in a stunning 19-25, 25-23, 25-19 nonconference victory over Providence.
Horn tallied a team-high eight kills for Joliet Catholic (3-9). Maggie Tibbott added six kills, while Ella Godeaux made 21 digs, Maddie Samolis contributed 14 digs and Cornell recruit Emma Beattie totaled 14 assists, 12 digs and five kills.
Wright State commit Abbey Knight led Providence (11-1) with 14 kills. Cali Tierney chipped in with 10 kills.
Horn, a 6-foot outside hitter, carries on quite a family legacy at JCA. Her father, John, was a 1991 graduate who won a bevy of All-American awards as a senior and went on to play college football at Illinois.
Pressure, anyone?
“Ha-ha … a little bit,” Ella said. “I enjoy it, though. It’s fun. He gives me advice, but mainly he just tells me to be confident in myself because I’m here for a reason.”
Ella was living large near the end of the third game against Providence.
Of her eight kills, half of them came during the Celtics’ final 10 points. Providence rallied and got within 23-19, when Horn sent a well-placed shot that landed just inside the back line.
No pressure there.
“She’s been doing so well and we’ve all been there for her,” Godeaux said of Horn. “I played club with Ella, so coming in, I knew she would be pulled up. We knew it would be a good pick.
“I can tell sometimes when she gets nervous. I would if I was a freshman, and this a new position for her. So her coming in and just balling out inspires me.”
Horn has been a setter/right-side hitter throughout her club career. But this season, that inn had no vacancies.
“We have two setters right now,” Brown said. “They both have different leadership styles that are working for us, which is great.
“We had Ella on the outside a couple of times during summer league. And because she’s such a great kid and she’s so open-minded about things, we just asked her one day for fun, ‘Do you like playing on the outside?’ She said, ‘I actually do. I like to hit.’ I thought, ‘OK, this might work.’”
For the season, Horn leads the Angels with 80 kills. She also has 14 blocks.
“I’m focusing on hitting more, which is really fun and challenging,” Horn said. “I have done a lot of passing work. Setters don’t pass at all, so that’s really new for me. And I’m working on more consistency hitting-wise and learning how to use the block.
“I really enjoy hitting because there is a lot of fieriness. As a setter, it was more about feeding the ball to other people and watching them succeed. I really like being able to place the ball and make more points and add fire to the team.”
Her impact definitely transcends her age.
“She has us looking up to her,” Godeaux said. “I know we’re older than her, but her coming in just inspires me to keep working hard — and be kind of grateful to have her on the team.”
Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.