By Rich Palzewic
Contributing Writer
GREEN BAY – Notre Dame Academy’s Sydney Whitehouse is probably best known for her
basketball skills, but she’s not bad at volleyball, either.
Behind Whitehouse’s 10 kills, the Tritons disposed of Pulaski in a straight set (25-20, 25-9, 25-
18) Fox River Classic Conference (FRCC) sweep at Notre Dame Academy on Sept. 12.
Hannah Greisen also had a good match for the Tritons with her 11 kills, while Adah Danen
added seven.
Grace Borys led Notre Dame with 31 assists.
“I know there’s a lot of great athletes in the state, but I’d put Sydney right up there,” Notre
Dame head coach Chris Fitzgerald said. “She’s helped the basketball team win three state titles,
she’s a great volleyball player and she was a member of the winning 4×100 state championship
relay team in track. She’s also a great teammate and very positive – the girls feed off her
energy.”
Whitehouse is a Division II basketball commit to Northern Michigan University.
“I like volleyball because it keeps me active and busy and it’s something different from
basketball,” she said. “Whichever sport I’m playing, I focus on that.”
Whitehouse said she appreciates the consistency of having Fitzgerald as a coach.
“The past few years, we’ve had a different head coach every year,” she said. “It’s been hard to
adapt to a certain structure, but with Chris, he’s been in our program for a few years now. It’s
nice because we are bonding well, and I think we have a chance to go far (into the
postseason).”
The Tritons (9-5 overall, 2-0 FRCC) jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first set and eventually led
19-12, but the Red Raiders (4-13, 0-2) went on a 6-1 run to claw their way back to a 20-18
deficit.
Notre Dame closed out the first set with a 5-2 surge.
Set two belonged to the Tritons, 25-9.
“We’re focusing on what’s happening on our side of the net,” Fitzgerald said. “We can control
our energy and playing together. There were times Pulaski went on a run, but I was happy with
how we responded.”
The third set was much like the second, with the Tritons jumping out to an early lead and
coasting from there in a 25-18 victory.
Fitzgerald said his girls are off to a good start this season.
“This year’s group – from the players to the parents – has been very positive,” he said. “The
girls have bought into what I want to do. They have all the pieces there, but now it’s a matter of
tinkering around with the lineup and working on some small discipline things. Overall, I couldn’t
ask for anything better.”
This is Fitzgerald’s first season as head coach of the varsity team at Notre Dame, but he has
spent time as the JV2 and JV coach as well.