2023 SVM Volleyball Player of the Year: Rock Fall’s Claire Bickett

Playing with most of her Rock Falls teammates since junior high, Claire Bickett knew what a special group the Rockets had this season.

She also knew that the goal was the program’s first trip to the state finals since back-to-back appearances in 1974 and ‘75, and to notch the Rockets’ first win at the state tournament.

Bickett and her teammates didn’t disappoint, ending their careers with a third-place finish in Class 2A and sending longtime coach Sheila Pillars out with her first state trophy in the final season of her 26-year tenure as Rock Falls’ head coach.

On the court with fellow seniors such as setter Denali Stonitsch, outside hitter Nicolette Udell, middle blocker Taylor Reyna, libero Carli Kobbeman and defensive specialists Sophia Moeller and Zoe Henson, Bickett led the way as the Rockets achieved their lifelong dreams. She set a single-season school record with 414 kills while connecting on a .299 hitting percentage, and also was second on the team with 254 digs while committing only 36 errors on 286 serve-receive opportunities for a serve-receive percentage of 87.4%. She was fourth on the team with 29 blocks and fifth with 20 aces – while missing only 10 out of her 306 serves on the season, a whopping 96.7% service rate.

Bickett, who also smashed 305 kills as a junior last season, finished second on the Rockets’ career kills list with 1,090, five behind Bailey O’Brien for the all-time top spot. COVID-19 cut short Bickett’s freshman year, as did playing with talented upperclassmen earlier in her career.

And on top of all that, it was her leadership that stood out the most to her coaches.

“The camaraderie and the communication and the leadership on this team, and especially from my seniors, was great all year,” Pillars said. “I told Claire she was the peacemaker; I feel like she was really good at talking to other players and relaying things to me so that I could go to whomever was having an issue and talk to them. She was a really great go-between captain that I relied on heavily.

“Claire is one of those girls where I could get all over her, and she’d say, ‘Yep, let’s go!’ and just help fire up and motivate the team when we needed it.”

For her standout season, Bickett has been voted the 2023 Sauk Valley Media Girls Volleyball Player of the Year by the sports staff, with input from area coaches.

Bickett spoke with sports correspondent Ty Reynolds about her favorite memories from her senior season, the run to the state finals and the bond she shares with her teammates.

What was the biggest strength of this team this season?

Bickett: “I think we’ve had a lot of past experience. Us seniors, we had been to the Elite Eight, the Sweet 16, we had been up there before, so it was just about how we could handle the pressure this year. It was kind of go big or go home. We’re seniors this year, there’s nothing after this for us, we don’t get to play together after this year, so I think that was just our mentality to stay locked in the whole season. I think we just executed that very well. I think the Eastland tournament, after that we just finally picked it up and really peaked going into the postseason.”

What was the key to finally making the run to state this season?

Bickett: “We were definitely good two years ago, we just ran into a really good Montini team [in the supersectional]. I think it was just a little luck and a lot of talent that got us there this year. This group was a little bit different, and we had that drive more, we were more senior-heavy than two years ago – we were a little bit younger then, with us sophomores playing that didn’t have quite the experience as we did this year – and I think we were just a little luckier with the group we had this year.”

What was it about this group that enabled you to get Rock Falls to state?

Bickett: “I think we all just had that experience. Denali and Nicolette and Carli, and even Sophia came in and served for us as a sophomore. I think that experience was key. We knew we’d been there before and just how to lead our team that way, and I think to finally get over the hump, it was just such a relief that we finally did it.”

What individual goals did you set this year to help the team have success?

Bickett: “Sheila had a conversation with me the last day of [preseason] doubles, and she said, ‘I need you to break the single-season kill record,’ and I thought, ‘OK, well, I think I can do that.’ That gave me the mentality to just go out swinging, and I think that leads a lot to show others on the court what we’re capable of, just putting the ball away to score points for my team. I just tried really hard to go out and do that every practice, every match, and I did what she asked me to.”

What is it about volleyball that’s sparked your love for the game?

Bickett: “I’ve just had really good experiences in volleyball. The culture here is just amazing, Sheila’s built a crazy-good culture that everyone just loves to be a part of. Playing club volleyball, I’ve just had amazing coaches and teams, and I think that’s what always has stuck out with me. Just the teams I’ve been a part of for volleyball have been great. It’s not that I don’t love basketball just as much, because I do, but it’s just the experiences I’ve had playing volleyball that I just cherish and love a little bit more.”

What does it mean to be part of the group to get this program to the state finals?

Bickett: “It hadn’t been done in so long, so it just felt really special. It kind of brings the talk to us. It’s always been about Sterling volleyball, Eastland volleyball, last year it was Newman volleyball, because they’d all had that success and played down at state. A lot of the surrounding schools have had the talk about them – and they all deserved it – but it was finally nice that we got to hear about Rock Falls volleyball and show all the hard work that Sheila and all the coaches and players have put into this program.”

What’s going to stand out most in your mind when you look back at the season?

Bickett: “I think it’s just the ride at the end, and taking in every little moment. From regionals all the way to state, Sheila reminded us to just enjoy every moment. So the little moments, not even playing, but more just the things like going to the games, the dancing on the bus rides after wins, those are the little things that I think I’ll remember – and the group of girls I did it with.”

How much better did this season feel because of the tight-knit team bond?

Bickett: “I think that’s special. A lot of schools that make it to state, they haven’t been playing together probably as long as our girls have, because we all came from the same town, the same elementary school. I think it’s just really special that you get to do it with people you grew up with. It’s your best friends, and we made our dreams come true together.”

How much competitive fire comes from your teammates pushing each other?

Bickett: “The chemistry, we’re definitely like sisters. It can get a little competitive in practice, and sometimes I think we all leave practice a little bit upset with each other. But when it comes to game day, we’re on the same side again. That’s just how competitive we are, and I think that’s what makes us so much better is that we just compete with each other in practice like no other, and we know each others’ limits, when to push and when not to push, and we’re all on the same page. That just forms that bond.”

What was the biggest strength of the team on the court?

Bickett: “The communication and chemistry we have, I think that’s definitely what did it for us. We know each others’ strengths and weaknesses, so we know where to help each other, where we can rely on each other. Other teams maybe don’t have the chemistry that we did. I think whether one person was having a good day or a bad day, we know how to pick each other up, and that’s just a great help. Just how much we love each other, we weren’t going to let each other down.”

Was the run to state special even though you knew the team had that potential?

Bickett: “Sheila’s expectations are always high, but I think it was the moment when we finally won that supersectional that we looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we just did that.’ Those are the expectations, but you never really know if you’re going to actually get there, and I think Sheila’s expectations being so high, we were just never satisfied. I think that’s why we went as far as we did, because every week she was there saying, ‘Hey, we got this, we got this, let’s go.’ I think that’s what did it for us.”

As focused as you guys were every match, when did it dawn on you what you were accomplishing?

Bickett: “Our key words all season were ‘Lock in,’ so it wasn’t really until that bus ride home from supersectionals that we realized what we had done. You don’t think about future games while you’re playing, because obviously you have to be locked in on what you’re doing out there to win so you can get to that next game. I think just that moment after the game when we were done, it hit us that we actually did that.”

As a senior leader, were there times when you took it upon yourself to put the team on your back?

Bickett: “For sure, that’s what being a leader is. In big moments, I just had to remember that I’ve had probably the most experience out of any other people on this team. When we got down, I think Carli, Denali, Nicolette and I just did a great job of realizing, ‘This is our time. We don’t want our season to end here.’ So we took responsibility toward the end for sure, and that really just helped our team all around.”