Brekke and Choice

IN THE FALL OF 2006, Wesley College fielded the first varsity volleyball program since moving into the Division III era. The Wolverines won nine games that season with a roster of mostly freshmen and the program looked to have a solid foundation. Freshman Lilia Brekke earned All-Pennsylvania Athletic Conference second team honors. One of her classmates, Nettie Choice, paced the conference in blocks. Then everything changed. And then it changed again.

In the program’s first three years, there were three different coaches. There was not a revolving door just on the coach’s office, but on the locker room as well. A total of 27 different players had suited up for the Wolverines. The only constants were Brekke and Choice.

“It was definitely hard,” Brekke remarked. “It put a lot of stress on Nettie and me.”

“We came into every season expecting a new coach,” Choice added. “It was very unstable. The two of us just got used to it.”

It took until their senior year to play for the same coach for two consecutive seasons. As one might expect, this brought the duo closer, on and off the court, especially since they were being looked to for primary leadership as early as their sophomore seasons.

“Playing with Nettie so much, we know each other inside and out, on and off the court,” Brekke said. “It made the two of us play together really well and that’s helped the team while the new players have learned to play together.”

If the bond could be made stronger, the two even line up next to each other with Choice playing middle hitter and Brekke on the outside. “I got used to looking to the left and always seeing her there,” Choice noted.

While it may seem obvious they would hold virtually every career record for the young program, it certainly has not been by default. The pair has racked up nearly every season record as well. Between them, they have racked up eight of the top 10 kill totals and five of the six best block totals. Brekke also has the season record for digs.

The career totals add up well too. Both players tallied over 550 career kills. Brekke added 222 aces and 934 digs while Choice patrolled the net for 449 blocks.

Despite playing their final match in the blue and white this October, the two young women see a bright future ahead for the program. Aside from the two senior captains, the rest of the roster has been made up of entirely freshmen and sophomores. The two agree that the recent consistency with Head Coach Gerry Szabo has been a welcome change. It also has been beneficial for the program in order to recruit the next genera­tion of volleyball players.

“We have players who came here to play volleyball,” Choice observed. “Before we just worked with whomever we had. Sometimes people were learning to play.”

“The group we have now is going to be able to grow and develop together,” added Brekke.

Something else they agree on is that more than the volleyball, the relationships they have built with each other and their team­mates are what they will remember most after they leave Wesley.

“There are girls on this team I’d call my sisters,” Choice said. “It’s like a family.”

For Choice and Brekke, their career paths on the court cer­tainly have had more twists and turns than those of their peers on Wesley’s more established athletic teams. Despite the turbu­lent beginnings for the program, however, the volleyball team has now reached a plateau. In addition, the two standouts have emerged stronger than ever, in their game and their friendship.

“Looking back,” Brekke said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”