All anybody has to do to find St. Charles East’s Kaylee McInnis in a gym is to open up their ears.
The sound coming from the big swings of the 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter will let you know where she is right away.
“You’ll hear it when she plays because she has a cannon,” said Lynnette Summins, who’s in her first year as the Saints’ coach. “She hits the ball hard. We’re working on controlling where it goes.
“The power that she has is where her success comes from.”
Summins knew McInnis from her work at Club Fusion before taking over St. Charles East’s program this year, the second coach in three seasons after the legendary Jennie Kull retired.
Having that bond since age 14 has helped Summins boost McInnis in reaching her full potential.
“The level of success she’s seeing is because she’s not just going for power every single time,” Summins said. “She’s learning how to abuse the block, what shots are good and when to go for the power.”
McInnis was at ease knowing Summins was taking over for the Saints.
“I think we had a trust to start with because we knew each other through club,” McInnis said. “I love her. My family loves her. I’m friends with people here and with her, so it combines everything.”
The feeling-out process of a new coach with a young team featuring only three seniors has been a hurdle for St. Charles East (5-6, 1-1).
A three-match winning streak, which featured the Saints’ first DuKane Conference win of the season at Glenbard North, shows McInnis what can be possible.
“I think we’re on the upswing,” McInnis said. “I think that we’re going to keep it up.”
McInnis was on the sophomore team three years ago when St. Charles East reached the Class 4A state finals in Kull’s last season, so she knows what it takes to be a part of a winner.
Now, as a four-year member of the program and a team captain, she’s eager to pass that experience on to her younger teammates.
“Definitely building trust with each other and building a bond outside of volleyball first, which is what we had to do with this team,” McInnis said. “It’s trust and communication on the court.
“Every point we come in and talk about what was good and what was bad. We went through that and now we’re putting everything together and it’s clicking.”
McInnis leads the team with 114 kills, but she gets her sets from a variety of sources.
Sophomore Francesca Fevold tops the chart for the Saints with 96 assists, but fellow sophomore Tessa Schneider (57) and senior Lexi Schrandt (56) are also in the mix. Fevold plays six rotations and also pitches in on the outside.
She knows having players like McInnis around can be invaluable.
“It’s super cool,” Fevold said. “We have a lot of younger people on the team, so it’s great to have a couple of older players.
“They’re able to take us in as a family and take care of us and support us when we’re down. It’s really great.”
In addition to trying to help get St. Charles East back to its winning ways, McInnis also has been focused on her college recruiting process.
Having Summins, who is the director of recruiting for Club Fusion as well as the national lead trainer, has been yet another extension of their relationship.
“It’s definitely a hard process that isn’t talked about enough,” McInnis said. “It’s definitely exciting. I do want to go to college to play. Lynnette is helping me with that.
“It’s definitely a long process but it’s so worth it in the end. It feels so rewarding when you get stuff back.”
Summins knows college programs are listening for McInnis.
“She’s done a good job of focusing her attention on the right programs at the right level,” Summins said of McInnis. “She’s had a lot of interest.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
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