After a long rally against Lake Zurich, freshman Courtney Owen set the ball to her sister, senior Brianna Owen, who then ended the first set 27-25 on a kill. The Spartans won the match in two sets, and the sisters’ chemistry was on full display.
“[Brianna] expects a little bit more from me because she knows what I can do and she’s seen me play,” said Courtney Owen. “She knows my potential, so she gets really excited when I do something well, or she gets really excited when she’s able to get a nice kill off of my sets.”
This was the second game the sisters played together after Courtney Owen was moved up to the varsity team. She was moved up to the varsity team after a tournament on Sept. 2. The sisters have never played together on the same team before this season.
Playing in the first game with her sister was really fun and a little more stressful than she thought it would be, Courtney Owen said.
“Having [that] extra pair of eyes on me, and especially since [Brianna] knows what she’s doing, she can just give feedback and let me know what I need to do,” Courtney Owen said.
According to Brianna Owen, it was really exciting for her sister to move up to varsity because she kind of pushed for Courtney playing up during the day during a tournament at New Trier.
“It’s not like playing with the other girls because I know [Courtney] as a different person, and I’ve never had this experience before,” said Brianna Owen. “But I think it’s super cool because I’m never going to play with her again, so it’s definitely surreal.”
According to head coach Tiffany Kim, Brianna always brings confidence and leadership to the team, and Courtney has been willing to make adjustments to her game.
“They have really good attitudes,” said Kim. “The only time you can see them being sisters is when Brianna is telling her sister to give her a better set, but besides that, they both work hard.”
As of Sept. 26, the team has a record of 7-12 and a conference record of 1-3.
As the season progressed, the sisters got closer and more comfortable with each other, Courtney Owen said.
“[Brianna] knows what I’m capable of, so she expects me to put in close to 100 percent every single time because she knows what 100 percent looks like,” said Courtney Owen. “She pumps me up and gets me all hype.”