It wasn’t so long ago when high school girls had to keep their athletic dreams within the boundaries of the school gymnasium.

But now more than ever, those students are harboring ambitions for a future athletic career in college. The NIU volleyball team seems to be attracting quite a few hopeful spikers of its own thanks to a reputation for winning and exciting volleyball action.

In Saturday’s game against Ball State University, the high school freshmen volleyball team from St. Edwards (Elgin), was on hand to witness NIU’s three-game victory over the Cardinals. The team was joined by a number of NIU’s own young family members and friends for a post-game autograph session.

“It’s great when you see that there’s about two dozen kids here for autographs,” NIU head volleyball coach Pete Waite said. “We’ve got people coming from all over to watch this team and who come out for exciting volleyball. It’s nice to know the team can be a role model for the kids.”

The secret to gaining the biggest fan club seems to lie in the ability to hit the ball and hit the ball hard. NIU’s “hard-hitters”, 6-4 Kori Schauer and 5-10 Wendy Mason were the unanimous favorites among members of the St. Edwards team.

“The girls wanted to see what it would be like to play college ball,” St. Edward’s freshman coach Susan Lillis said. “These girls will be playing for the next three years together and look forward to going on after high school. Now is just the beginning of their successes.”

NIU team members remember what it was like to be a young athlete with dreams of making a college team. Mason, a native of Lyons, Co., followed the Colorado State University volleyball team since she was in eighth grade and is flattered by the attention.

“It’s neat that we have so many high school teams who enjoy watching us play,” Mason said. “I remember when I used to follow CSU, so it was exciting when we finally played them this year.”

And who knows, these young NIU fans might just find themselves in the same position someday—with yet another group of hopefuls watching from the stands.

“I can’t wait to play someday,” St. Edwards’ freshman captain Karrie Brazzale said. “It looks like a lot of fun, and they’re so good.”