Cathy Holmes has a lot of things to talk about, yet she would be the last one to say anything.

The senior NIU volleyball co-captain led the 1987 Huskie squad in kills (321), kills-per-game (2.79), solo blocks (42) and block assists (138).

She was praised for her efforts last season when she was named Most Valuable Player on the team, and she ranked 13th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association final rankings.

Holmes’ outstanding play has rolled over to the 1988 season, as she again leads the spikers in kills (62 of 122 attempts), average kills-per-game (2.95) and average blocks-per-game (1.57). The All-Midwest candidate was also the first player this season to be named North Star Conference Player-of-the-Week.

Yet a serene Holmes hesitates to stop and take credit for her endeavors, which have led the squad to its 3-3 record this season and 19-16 slate last year.

“I really don’t think about it (accomplishments),” Holmes said. “I don’t think of myself as a ‘quote captain,’ I’m no more special than anyone else.

“Everyone (on the team) gives each other respect. It goes both ways. It has to be that way to make it work. I still have a lot of things to work on.”

Amy Garrett, who shares responsibility with Holmes as co-captain and as a roommate, said Holmes has a way to release her leadership ability without boasting.

“She never brags,” Garrett said. “She leads more through example than anything. She’s confident, but never overconfident.

“When you play together for four years, you get to know somebody pretty well. We celebrate when we win, and when we lose we have someone to talk to. She’s someone to depend on both on and off the court. Everybody looks up to her.”

Not because of her towering six-foot-one stature, but because of her capability as an athlete. The players are not her only admirers, as first-year coach Pete Waite commends Holmes.

“She deserves all the attention she’s received throughout her career,” Waite said. “She’s an excellent athlete, and she has a fantastic attitude on the court. She’s eager to learn, and that in itself will help her to improve in her final season.”

Although Holmes said she is fired up about the team’s chances for a winning season this year, she spoke of the past at NIU with less enthusiasm.

“It’s been a long four years,” Holmes said. “My freshmen year, we had clicks within the upperclassmen and between the freshmen and sophomores, and we didn’t all work as a team.

“I had a very raw talent when I came here, and I spent a lot of time on the bench (freshman year). I could play just about any sport, but I had to learn to refine myself to just playing volleyball.

“Sophomore year we had a bad record, and last year we had a rough time pulling the team together.”

Holmes said there wasn’t “any one thing” which improved her status in four years, just a lot of hours in the gym. Although it is her final season, Holmes said she continues to try and does not slack off with Waite as boss.

“Maybe I would have found myself slacking off a bit with ‘Spike,'(former NIU coach)” Holmes said, “but you especially can’t slack off with a new coach.”

Holmes didn’t have room to slack when it came time to choose a college as NIU was the only Division I school that recruited her.

Not that she wasn’t a standout in high school, but she had a problem re-establishing a name for herself when her family moved during her high school career. However, Summers never lost track of Holmes during recruiting season. He contacted and signed her when she moved from Indiana to Connecticut.

Although volleyball has been a major part of Holmes’ life since high school, it will be reduced to a side activity pending graduation from NIU. Holmes wants to concentrate on teaching but is still considering participating in open volleyball tournaments and possibly coaching high school.

“Cathy could continue playing past college in any avenue she wanted to,” Waite said. “If she wanted to set her mind on something, she could achieve it.

“My only wish would be that Cathy were a freshman or sophomore when I came into the program. I would have really enjoyed helping her be the best she can be.”