Huskies’ Greffin to compete on the national stage

Updated: June 7, 2011 7:40PM

For the second consecutive summer, Audrey Greffin is headed to Orlando, Fla., with her club volleyball team.

Greffin, Oak Park-River Forest’s 6-foot-1 middle hitter, is the only Huskies’ player with the Western Springs-based Lions Jrs. 17-1 team, which will open the AAU Junior Olympics June 14.

Greffin and club teammate Katie Grabowski, a defensive specialist from Hinsdale Central, are the only members of the club team from the West Suburban Conference Silver Division.

Greffin, a senior-to-be, plays for the top club team in the Lions Jrs. organization. The club also sponsors 18s and 17s teams under the 1st Alliance banner for teams trying to qualify for the more prestigious USA Junior Nationals in Atlanta. That tournament begins June 25.

Greffin and Grabowski will compete in their final tournament Saturday and Sunday before heading to Orlando. Lions Jrs. 17-1 will play in the 17 Club division at the Pre-Nationals tournament at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora.

“I’m not sure (what to expect), but I hope we do well,” Greffin said. “We’ve had a long break off. We haven’t played a tournament in two weeks.”

Lions Jrs. 17-1’s last tournament was a local CZone tournament May 21-22.

After the trip to Florida, Greffin will concentrate on her OPRF team workouts the rest of the summer and visit more colleges. She has already visited the University of Colorado and Miami University (Ohio), but plans on checking out smaller schools so she can play volleyball.

Greffin has played for Lions Jrs. for five years.

“The coaching is good and the girls are all really nice,” Greffin said.

The club coach for Lions 17-1 is Aubrey Dondlinger, a Stagg graduate and former player at Southeast Missouri. Dondlinger was a former club player for 1st Alliance/Lions Jrs.

With two more tournaments left in the club season, Lions Jrs. 17-1 is trying to overcome a serious injury to its setter, Emily Thron, of Benet. Thron suffered a concussion earlier in the season and has struggled to return to her consistent form. Thron continued setting in the match during which she was injured, but the severity of the injury was discovered afterward.

“We’ve been really inconsistent,” Greffin said. “We’ve worked on our serve-receive defense more than our offense between the two. Our defense is definitely stronger than our offense.”

Greffin values her work with the club and hopes to make an even bigger impact this fall as one of six varsity players from last year expected to return this season. The Huskies (19-17, 3-3 conference last season) play in the same conference that crowned last year’s state champion (Lyons) and fourth-place team (York).

“I’d say club season is very important,” Greffin said. “I feel like I get more personal work done.”

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