By FRED KRONER
Haylie Orton – who signed a letter-of-intent on Wednesday to play volleyball at Illinois College – has discovered that it is possible for two negatives to equal one positive.
The Mahomet-Seymour senior learned that is especially true if the negatives happen to occur in sequence.
As a sophomore, Orton suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a basketball practice the day after Thanksgiving.
That was in November, 2019, five games into the season.
She underwent surgery in January, 2020, without knowing what the days, weeks and months to come would look like for her or for the world.
Orton knew that the sport she dreamed of playing in college – volleyball – was already starting to recruit players in her Class of 2022.
“I talked to a few schools right after my surgery and I was upfront with them about my injury,” Orton said. “They were all very supportive of my recovery process, but it was hard because they would want video or were hoping to come to a tournament, but between my knee and COVID, they couldn’t do that.”
And therein lies the second negative, the coronavirus pandemic that started closing down schools and events in March, 2020.
“The pandemic was, ironically, a blessing in disguise,” Orton said. “The pandemic shut all sports down, which happened while I was in recovery and rehab for my ACL.
“While I was rehabbing for my return, no one else was playing volleyball either. By the time sports began to return, I was beginning to make my return to playing as well.”
There were a few hurdles she had to clear in the meantime, including the mental aspect of missing a basketball season which had already started off well for her.
“I was bummed to miss basketball and club volleyball (in spring 2020), but determined and focused to return stronger and better,” Orton said. “Rehab started right away and my goal was to be 100 percent and ready for the fall 2020 MSHS volleyball season.”
She felt like her timetable was realistic and she was diligent in following the prescribed workout regimen.
“Rehab was going very well, then COVID,” Orton said. “Rehab was shut down.
“However, my trainer gave me exercises to work on during this time to do on my own. We even met privately at different parks around town to do exercises to keep pace with rehab and my goal of returning to volleyball.”
She didn’t lose motivation while being inactive athletically.
“I stayed very focused in my at-home rehab,” Orton said. “As each week went by, I was making progress.”
By late June 2020, Orton was released to practice and to do volleyball skill-set drills. The following month, she was released to scrimmage.”
In August, as high schools were starting to gather and prepare for a new season, Orton received the news she wanted: “fully released for competition,” she said. “Everything was on pace to be ready for the fall 2020 volleyball season.
“We had our annual team scrimmage. It felt great to be back competing on the court again.”
And then, she wasn’t.
The IHSA paused many high school sports in the fall of 2020 and set a startup date for volleyball in March, 2021.
Orton took it in stride.
“This allowed me more time to continue to get stronger and get more comfortable playing again,” she said.
With high school sports off the table, she was able to rejoin her Prime Time club team.
“We were practicing some that fall in the absence of the school season,” Orton said.
The best news was not that she was back on the volleyball court.
“By now I am 100 percent, feeling great, ready for competition,” Orton said.
The official first test came in February, 2021 when her Prime Time team participated in its opening tournament of the year.
“That was really my first test in a competitive environment post-rehab,” Orton said. “Everything went very well and I felt I was stronger and better than pre-injury.”
In what amounted to additional preseason preparation for the high school season, Orton played in two more club tournaments with Prime Time before switching back to the Bulldogs.
“This was quite the journey,” Orton said. “The injury and rehab of my ACL was challenging enough, but then COVID caused other challenges that I had to overcome.
“The shutdowns played into my favor as I really didn’t miss much volleyball because with everything being shut down, I wouldn’t have been able to play if I wasn’t injured.”
Nearly 17 months after she had played in a volleyball match for the Bulldogs, Orton was back in the lineup for coach Stan Bergman’s team on March 16, 2021.
She not only felt stronger physically, but also mentally.
“This injury and recovery really tested my determination, focus, and desire,” Orton said. “Once I got back to competing again, I fell in love with the sport all over again.”
M-S won the Apollo Conference championship in the spring of 2021 and Orton played a key role. Her kill efficiency (38.1 percent of all her swings) was second on the team among players with at least 100 attempts.
Orton led the Bulldogs in blocks as a junior and was second on the team in aces, one behind team-leader Caylee Folken.
Bergman was impressed with how Orton dealt with the injury and the ramifications of COVID-19.
“She never lost hope and had an incredible junior year at the net blocking and hitting the ball really well,” Bergman said.
To be in that position, the coach said, was a tribute to “her determination, hard work, persistence and dedication to do what is right to get where she wanted to go. She came back stronger than she ever was before.”
The previous year – her pre-injury sophomore season – Orton was a fixture in the M-S lineup, playing in every set for a team that won the conference and regional titles.
Bergman was impressed by more than the athletic ability of a person who was a two-sport varsity athlete at M-S.
“I really liked her personality when we first met,” he said. “She is a bubbly kid that tries to find ways to solve things instead of blaming something else.
“I came up with the word Haylieism … It just means that when the going gets tough, you look for the humor and the bright side of things to get through it.”
Orton continued her club season right after the abbreviated (16 matches in five weeks) high school season concluded in the spring of 2020.
As the recruiting process intensified, Orton had already done some homework as she looked to her future.
“I always knew that I wanted to go to a smaller school closer to home that had a recognized nursing program,” Orton said. “That narrowed my search down.
“I had some great visits to schools in Michigan and Illinois and was in close contact with several other schools in the Midwest.”
After several official visits, her top two schools were Illinois College (in Jacksonville) and Millikin University (in Decatur).
“Both are great schools with well-known nursing programs and great volleyball coaches,” Orton said. “After visiting Illinois College a few times, it just felt like home.
“The coaches are great and their facilities are awesome.”
Bergman believes Orton – whose long-term goal is to be a pediatric nurse – will fare well at the next level.
“She is going to fit into Illinois College very well,” Bergman said. “The size, the location, the facilities and the education are right up her alley.
“I am very proud to have been able to coach her. We will miss her Haylieism, but she can now share it with another team.”
Orton again helped the Bulldogs to an Apollo title as a senior and earned first-team all-conference accolades (along with teammates Libby Bodine and Grace Rodebaugh) after finishing second on the team in kills (151) and hitting efficiency (32.7 percent). She was also third in service aces (42) and blocks (44) while helping M-S to a school-record 31 victories.
“This past season I felt like we had the best team chemistry that our program has seen in a while,” Orton said. “My teammates and I all genuinely want the best for everyone and we played for each other and that showed out on the court.
“No egos, just getting the job done.”
She used her experiences from the past to help facilitate the process for her younger teammates.
“My sophomore year, the upperclassmen really took me under their wings and showed me the ropes,” Orton said. “I feel like since then I have really matured and tried to lead by example.
“I wanted to make sure that the incoming freshman felt welcomed and I wanted to help them as much as the juniors and seniors did for me my sophomore year.”
Orton recognizes that mistakes are a part of volleyball, but has learned not to let errors have a carryover, with a goal of always “bringing the energy to the court and being encouraging and not letting a bad hit or a bad play get me down or get in my head,” she said.
She relishes the chances to perform when the stakes are at their highest.
“I feel like the higher the pressure, the better,” Orton said. “I want the ball in those situations because I believe I can finish the play.
“I am a bit undersized (at 5-foot-10) for my position, but am versatile enough that I really could play several different positions on the court if needed.”
Orton has a long background in sports, but the sport she picked up last turned out to be her favorite and the one she chose to pursue in college.
She started in travel softball in third grade and played through her eighth-grade year. She added basketball in fourth grade and carried it through her sophomore season. She also began competitive gymnastics in fourth grade and stayed with it through seventh grade. In sixth grade, she added track, which she participated in throughout her junior high years.
As a seventh-grader, Orton added volleyball and joined the Illini Elite program that first year. She shifted to the Prime Time club program once she entered high school.
“After tearing my ACL and knowing that I wanted to play volleyball in college, I decided to just focus on volleyball from there on out,” she said.
Part of that decision was based on being elevated to the varsity in volleyball as a sophomore.
“I always loved playing volleyball, but it was my sophomore year when I realized that I could have a shot at playing at the next level,” Orton said. “Making varsity and then becoming a starter and contributor to the team made me realize that I could do this and that I wanted to continue.”
With Illinois College graduating both of its starting middle hitters after this season, Orton hopes she can make a quick transition.
“I am ready to get to work so that I can hopefully pick up where they will leave off,” she said. “I’m really excited to get to know my new teammates for next year.”
Orton said her family and her various coaches have all played a huge role in her improvement and development.
“My success and accomplishments could not be without the support of my brother, my parents, my teammates, and all of my coaches along the way,” Orton said. “Everyone played a critical role in making me the player I am today.”
Bergman’s impact, especially, can’t be overlooked.
“Bergman has been one of the best things to happen to my volleyball career,” Orton said. “He took a chance on this quick, little middle hitter and has made me the player I am today.
“He saw something in me that made me believe I could be better and could play at the next level. He pushed me in practice and games to be the best I can be.
“I am forever appreciative of Bergman and privileged I was able to play for him. As much as he kept me on my toes, I think he would say the same about me.”
One of Orton’s biggest transitions next year will not be in volleyball, but in her everyday life.
“I think moving away is going to be difficult at first,” she said. “I am a homebody and very close with my parents and little brother, Mason, so I am definitely going to miss being with them every day.
“It’s going to be an adjustment, but I’m glad it is only a couple hours away so they can visit and I can still come home.”
In her three-year varsity career at M-S, Orton played in 203 of the 204 sets the Bulldogs had. She ranked among the top three on the team in kills and blocks all three years and among the top three in service aces her final two seasons.
As a senior, she was also fifth on the team in digs. Her 69 career service aces place her third on the school’s all-time leaders’ list in volleyball.
It is clear that Orton is equally at home at her residence as well as on the volleyball court.
