When she was young, Lockport’s Bridget Ferriter went to watch her older siblings play volleyball.

It stood to reason that she would become involved with the sport.

Ferriter started playing volleyball in fourth grade in a local rec league with the Homer Athletic Club before moving on to club ball with Adversity Volleyball in Wood Dale.

She also played basketball until her freshman year before giving it up to concentrate on volleyball. It turned out to be the right decision, as she was named Herald-News Girls Volleyball Player of the Year after helping lead the Porters to their second straight Class 4A third-place finish.

“I have played volleyball a lot,” Ferriter said. “I liked basketball, too, but it was too much with the basketball season right after volleyball. I would have missed out on club ball if I played basketball, so I just concentrated on volleyball.

“What I like best about volleyball is the pace of the game. In basketball, it’s back and forth, but in volleyball, there’s a point, and then you have time to refocus and collect your thoughts before the next point.”

Ferriter was on the floor for almost all of the points this season for the Porters. She was a full six-rotation player. She finished the season with 351 kills, a .313 hitting percentage, 18 blocks, 28 aces, 195 digs and a 1.84 serve-receive rating (out of 3.0) on 362 serve receptions.

“Bridget is a physical attacker with a heavy arm,” Lockport coach Nick Mraz said. “We always knew we could count on her in big moments. This was evident in her 20-kill performance in the sectional championship, including 11 in the decisive third set.

“Her teammates also voted her as Co-MVP with Hutsyn Timosciek. We do not make another state run and finish as the top public school in the state without her.”

Ferriter was named First Team All-State by the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association and was All-Tournament at the state finals. She was named All-Tournament at the Plainfield North Invitational and was All-SouthWest Suburban Conference for the second straight year.

“I really like to play all six rotations,” Ferriter said. “My sophomore year, I only played in the front row. I have found that it’s easier to develop a rhythm and get a better sense of how a match is going if I am on the floor the whole time.

“In a long match, like the one in the sectional championship against Joliet West, it helps to stay focused. We lost the first set on their home floor with their student section being really loud. But, we had a big student section that match, too, and they definitely helped us come back. We wanted to finish this year better than we did last year, but for us to finish as the top public school in the state was pretty fulfilling.”

That wasn’t the only match that stands out in Ferriter’s mind this season.

“We played [Class 4A runner-up] Benet at the start of the year in the Plainfield North Invitational,” she said. “We knew they were supposed to be one of the top teams in the state, and we beat them.

“It was a little bit shocking for us, but it let us know that we could play and compete with the best teams in the state. Even though we got third last year, we weren’t sure how we would do this year, and beating Benet gave us a lot of confidence. I forget how many years it had been since Lockport has been to state, but to do it in back-to-back years feels pretty special.”

Ferriter is deciding whether or not she will play volleyball in college, as she plans to study biochemistry.

“I am still thinking about playing in college,” she said. “I have applied to University of Chicago, but I don’t know if I want to be in the city. I would love to be in a college town, but I am not sure if I would be able to keep up with my studies if I play volleyball.”