ISU for 'Lou'

CHANNAHON -- And on her third visit to the campus of Illinois State University, Joliet Catholic Academy graduate Laura Wakefield rested. Then she put her college volleyball decision to rest.

Wakefield -- a two-year varsity starter at outside hitter and right-side hitter and a special mention all-state selection by The Champaign News-Gazette as a senior this past fall -- will become a preferred walk-on for the Redbirds in the upcoming season.

Called up to the varsity as a sophomore for JCA's Class AA fourth-place finisher at ISU, Wakefield led the state tournament in digs as a junior as the Angels followed up that trophy performance with third place -- a fact Wakefield still looks at as a cherished memory.

Her favorite moment at ISU?

"Winning third place," said Wakefield, a Channahon resident. "Plus, the locker rooms were pretty big, too. They were very nice. I remember playing there, how it felt there, and now I get to experience that on the Illinois State college team."

A two-time Herald News first team all-area choice, Wakefield closed her career with over 500 digs for JCA. She captained the Angels to a 35-6 record, a seventh straight regional title and a third consecutive sectional championship in 2007. She was named all-conference by the East Suburban Catholic.

"Laura's the type of player every coach wants on their team," said Christine Scheibe, who's 238-66-9 in eight years at JCA. "She will work hard, she will be a leader, and she has the skills to be a success in any program at any level. When we took third, she was one of the keys to our success."

If successful in her new role as a defensive specialist/libero for Illinois State, the 5-foot-8 Wakefield confirmed the strong possibility of being on scholarship within "a year or two." She also was being recruited by Missouri-St. Louis, Millikin and Lake Forest, among others.

When Wakefield sees the floor for ISU this fall, she will become the 15th former JCA volleyball player since 2000 under Scheibe to play in college -- including nine on the Division I level, a trend started by Penn State setter Sam Tortorello and Bowling Green outside Maggie Karges.

Seven more Angel volleyball players have gone on to compete in other sports in college since 2000, including Division I basketball players Allie and Sam Quigley (DePaul) and softball standouts Lindsey Major (Iowa) and Christie Seddon (UIC).

"I really liked the coaches when I went there and toured the campus," Wakefield said. "It felt like a family atmosphere in talking to the players and the coaches, and I'm very excited."

"Laura's the type of quality, character player -- a true Angel -- who we believe epitomizes the volleyball program here," Scheibe said. "We're going to miss her very much, but we hope that we get her to come back again in the future."

While Wakefield wants to major in education with the hopes of being a teacher and volleyball coach -- "I'll hire her in a second," Scheibe said -- the player with a 3.96 grade-point average and 117 kills and 177 digs as a senior should eventually work her way into the Redbird mix, according to her high school coach.

Her favorite memory of Wakefield?

"First of all, she reads hitters very well defensively and she's not afraid to give up her body to get the ball in the air," Scheibe said, before citing the late-season injuries of Division I recruits Kelly Murphy, Bri Fleener and Annemarie Hickey. "She also stepped up as a leader with Gina Vera.

"Until Kelly and Annemarie came back from the injuries, we could have gotten off track, but Laura and Gina held us together like glue and helped get us to the supersectional."

As a result, Wakefield paced the Angels to a fourth season of 35 wins or more in the past five years -- all Elite Eight appearances. JCA, which won the state title in 2003, went 72-12 with Wakefield in the starting lineup.

Also a defender in soccer, Wakefield sounded content in making the move to full-time back-row specialist at ISU.

Whatever it takes to win.

"I guess I've always liked stopping the other team from scoring and defense wins games," Wakefield said. "I know most people want to be on offense, but I enjoy defense. I like working hard to get to the ball and pass well. I love defense and I love to win -- that's it for me."