Illinois Valley Times

A local high school volleyball star has gone on to some great success collegiately, far away from home.

"Yes, it was far away, but I wanted to follow my sister Kelcie’s footsteps just in a different sport and in warmer climate," Jacksonville State University junior middle blocker Mackenzie Rombach recently told Illinois Valley Times.

Jacksonville State University junior middle blocker Mackenzie Rombach | Matt Reynolds/JSU Photography.

 

Rombach is playing her college volleyball in Jacksonville, Alabama, approximately 700 miles south of where she played her high school volleyball, Ottawa Township High School. Rombach said her decision on a college did not take long.

"Stepping on JSU campus for the first (time) I had a good feeling this was the place for me," Rombach said. "I had a great time, enjoyed the staff, beautiful campus, strong academics; and I loved the Southern hospitality. Furthermore, Coach (Terry) Gamble runs a similar system as Sports Performance, so that was a great fit for me, too. I committed to play there during my first visit, and I haven’t looked back since."

Rombach's success started at Ottawa Township, where she was named all-region and all-district first team both her junior and senior seasons, also being named honorable mention all-state both years. Those same two years, she was the Ottawa Times Player of the Year.

That success carried on to her NCAA career, being named a starter as a true freshman and being one of only two Gamecock players to play all 119 sets in the 2015 season. As a freshman, she led the team in blocks with 78, including 46 assists and 32 solo blocks.

This year, Rombach's iron-woman streak continued, as she started all 37 matches and played in every set once again. She led the entire NCAA in blocks for three weeks, before falling only slightly to a sixth-place finish with a JSU record of 175 blocks. She set a school record with 1.28 blocks per set and became the first Gamecock player to lead the Ohio Valley Conference in blocking.

Rombach says that her iron-woman streak of matches and sets played in is a mixture of both toughing it out and good health.

"I attribute my success to my offseason and in season training and conditioning, eating healthy, and playing through injuries and illnesses," she said. "There were times when I was sick and had to push through it; and believe it or not, they were some of the best games I’ve played this season."

This season, Rombach was named to the All-OVC team, considered an impressive feat for a player who was at the time a sophomore. Rombach said that while she appreciates the individual honor, it's really reflective of the team's success.

"I think it is cool to be recognized for it, but I have to attribute these to my teammates as well," she said. "Without the rest of my team working hard alongside of me, there probably would not be any awards at all. I owe (it) to the girls on my team that enable the perfect pass, set, kill sequence for me to put the ball down; and as for blocking, I owe it to my fellow blockers for setting the block just right, so that I am able to close and get the block."

Rombach also succeeds in the classroom. At Ottawa Township, she recorded a 3.94 GPA, and scored a 29 on the ACT exam. This season, Rombach was one of the winners of the OVC Academic Medal of Honor. She says that she succeeds so well in academics by treating it just like another sport.

"I’m a really competitive person, so when it comes to academics I treat it like I play volleyball, and I want to do my best in it," she said. "I know that volleyball only takes up a fraction of my life, while academics is preparing me for what I want to do with the rest of my life. Coach Gamble is a strong proponent of academics and emphasizes the importance as our first priority.

Jacksonville State finished the 2016 season with a record of 18-19, losing in the first round of the OVC Tournament to the top seed Murray State. Now the team will turn their attention to the sand. In April, Jacksonville State approved the addition of women's beach volleyball to their list of sports. Rombach and the rest of the indoor roster will also compete in sand volleyball. That season begins March 19 at the Carolina Classic in Columbia, South Carolina, with the team's first match against the University of North Florida.