Junior outside hitter Taylor Berg is always ready to protect and serve for Marist.
It runs in her family, too. Berg’s father, Larry, is a firefighter. Her brother, Carter, is a police officer. One grandfather was a police officer, the other a firefighter. The list goes on and on.
Taylor, however, wants to take it even further.
“I wanted to be a first responder ever since I was little,” she said before explaining her career goal. “I want to be an FBI agent. I want to be in the field.”
For now, that field is a volleyball court. The Western Michigan recruit continues to aim high, totaling seven kills and 11 digs Tuesday night in a 25-14, 25-15 nonconference win over Loyola.
Michigan recruit Maggie Kurpeikis, the team’s other junior outside hitter, added eight kills and a pair of blocks for host Marist (22-4) in Chicago. Freshman setter Haven Enselman had 20 assists.
The Ramblers (15-10), the only Illinois team to beat Mother McAuley this season, were their own worst enemy. Loyola ended up with more hitting errors than kills, with 13 errors and 12 kills.
At the same time, the 5-foot-9 Berg was packing a mighty wallop on her swings. She wants to enjoy playing offense for as long as she can, with Western Michigan recruiting her for defense.
So, the rest of this year and then next season, she looks to make the most of her opportunities.
“I love hitting,” Berg said. “It brings me so much adrenaline. When I swing, I always want to put the ball down. I’m a very aggressive person, and I love hitting.”
Her coaches and teammates also love having her hit.
“She’s got a spark to her that we’ve known about,” Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said of Berg. “She has a very athletically quick twitch. Obviously, she can do some things in the front row.
“But at the college level, it’s a different beast. I do think a big part of her overall athletic ability is a reason they see her as such an effective defensive player. She can cover ground so quickly.”
But for the purposes of reigning Class 4A state champion Marist, Vidovic said her vertical ability and explosiveness makes her valuable on offense as well.
Kurpeikis, for one, knows when she rotates to the back row that the RedHawks are still in good hands.
“I love having Taylor on the team because we push each other a lot,” Kurpeikis said. “We play the same position and it’s great. She has a great toolbox of shots, and she’s great at serve receive.”
Several talented seniors graduated from last year’s state championship team. That has given Berg a chance to shine this year, and she has been jumping at that chance.
“She’s taken on bigger responsibility playing front and back row,” Vidovic said. “She’s shouldering a lot more of the load for us and she’s getting more comfortable by the game to do that.”
In college, Berg plans on honing her chops on the volleyball court for the Broncos while learning the ins and outs of a potential FBI career by majoring in criminal justice.
Interestingly, Western Michigan is a women’s volleyball team she actually grew up watching.
“I would always come to the Western Michigan-Green Bay game here at Marist,” she said of spring exhibition matches. “I think I started watching them when I was in third grade, so I knew who Western Michigan was. Once I started the recruiting process, the coaches were very positive.
“I emailed them. They emailed back and wanted to talk to me. I visited them and love it there.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.