The Niles West girls varsity volleyball season is off to a strong start, sitting at a record of 14-7. Important to any team’s success is strong leadership. For this year’s varsity team, seniors Megan Burke, Kaylee Cao and Maia Clair are those leaders. The trio has been playing volleyball at Niles West for all four years of high school. Now, they can use their experiences to help guide the team as its co-captains. 

There are many responsibilities that come with the position.

“Their main job is to use their leadership skills to lead our team and motivate them in practice and games, no matter if we are doing well or struggling. They also lead our pre-game team goals meeting, are in charge of setting up team bonding events and any other various tasks that we may need them to help lead or be in charge of,” varsity volleyball coach Stacy Roth said. 

Before they made their mark at West, all three spent time playing for Mindset Volleyball Club. They have been playing together since they were ten years old. 

“I think as a group, all three of them stand out as very supportive individuals that have a common goal of making sure they get the best out of their team. All three of them are the glue of the team that they’ve been playing on, from supporting each other when things are not going as well, to making sure that everyone is on the same page with knowing what play to run or making sure they’re getting the best out of each other and finishing the task at hand,” Mindset director and coach Randy Satovitz said. 

Burke, Cao and Clair were elected by their Niles West teammates to be the team’s 2024 captains. Their hard work and dedication, along with their approachable personalities, earned them their positions as co-captains. 

“It means a lot to me that the girls voted [for] me because it shows me that the girls trust me, feel comfortable with me and believe that I can lead them. I also feel like I have natural leadership skills, and it really shows when the girls see it too,” Clair said. 

This is the second year Clair has been a captain. She is grateful for the experiences volleyball has provided her. 

“Playing brought out my natural leadership skills. My experience has been great every year. I learned how to be a good teammate, [I] built my mental toughness and a motivated work ethic. I am very competitive, so I love that the coaches push me hard so that we can be the best,” Clair added.

Cao, who is a first-year captain, expresses how the role has pushed her out of her comfort zone.

“I’ve been on the Niles West Volleyball team for all four years of high school and my experience has been nothing but good words. I have improved [my] skills immensely while continuing to grow as a person. Being a captain pushes me to use my voice and speak up when the team [needs] some words of advice,” Cao said. 

Burke is also a first-year captain and has enjoyed her time with the team. 

“[The team] was a great way to meet new people, both younger and older. Being a captain to me means being a leader, helper and role model,” Burke said. 

Even outside of Niles West, Burke and Clair prove that they are natural leaders. 

“Both Megan and Maia have been helping out, even on the coaching side of things, as well. They’ve been helpful [in] all different ways. As a group, it is such a pleasure to work with them. It makes my job very easy when you have players that want to put in the hard work and show up every day,” Satovitz said. 

The team currently holds a 2-0 record in conference play. There are ten conference matches that they will play in throughout the season. Last year, they won all ten. All three co-captains, along with Coach Roth, hope to repeat their perfect conference record. 

“I hope they accomplish the goals they set as a team [at] the beginning of the season,” Roth said. “Those goals include winning conference for the second time in a row, beating Niles North both times we play them and winning Regionals. They also have a chance to break the school record for amount of wins in a single season, so that would be a great memory for them if they accomplish that.” 

Good luck to girls varsity volleyball on their quest for a 10-0 conference record!