Oswego East’s Hailey Aguilar plays like a comet at libero

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Hailey Aguilar knows the score.

More often than not in volleyball, to the hitters and setters go the headlines, along with most of the scholarship money.

“You can teach a tall person to pass,” said the 5-5 Aguilar, describing her primary role as libero for Oswego East. “You can’t teach a short person to be tall.”

Aguilar knows her role and does it well for her high school and club teams. She was a key player last season for the Sports Performance 18 White team coached by Steve Justice.

That hard work was recently rewarded when she verbally committed to attend East Tennessee State University on a partial scholarship.

“It’s my dream school,” said Aguilar, who plans to major in fashion merchandising. “It’s in Johnson City and it’s gorgeous. The coach reminds me of my grandma (Voncile Carlson), who was a volleyball coach at Forreston High School.

“I visited, and the girls and their southern hospitality is what got me.”

She could see herself eventually working as a buyer for a large retail store or as a designer.

“I like designing clothes and actually have designed most of my own,” she said.

Now, she has designs on anchoring the defense of a small but overachieving Wolves’ team.

“If things start going south in a game or match, she’s the one I want the ball to go to,” Oswego East coach Adam Thurlwell said. “She’s the heart and soul of our defense, usually the first contact.

“Everyone sees the thunderous kill and goes ‘Oooh,’ but that’s just the final third in a three-step process. I talk a lot about ball control.”

It usually starts with the nimble Aguilar, who goes low to dig out booming spikes or throws her body through the air, trying to keep the ball alive. Bumps, bruises and scrapes have to be the trademarks of a good libero.

“From the time the ball leaves the (opposing) setter’s hands to the time the hitter hits, you blink and it’s in your face,” Aguilar said. “It is a game of inches and instincts. I try to anticipate where it’s going. I’ve gotten pummeled a few times.”

She tried other sports, but Aguilar settled on volleyball because “I just love the intensity of this game. Playing to 25 points, every point is a game within the game and you can go back and forth, back and forth.”

She started as a setter, following the footsteps of her mother and two aunts who had played.

“But I said, ‘No way, I need you to pass, kid,’” Thurlwell said. “She’s only in her third year at a new position and I’ve got hitters who have been doing the same thing since sixth grade. There’s a learning curve but she’s come really far.”

With no players 6-foot or taller, the Wolves often have their work cut out for them.

What’s the key?

“(Winning) the emotional points,” Aguilar said. “That really good one-handed save or a really, really good hit or something that makes you all jump up and stomp around and yell, getting the crowd to stand up and cheer and then taking that energy and feeding it into the next point and the next point and the next.

“The emotion in the gym rises and your emotion is through the roof.”

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