Downers Grove North’s Nora Benjamins follows in her mother’s footsteps in sports and academics

BY JEFF VORVA

Like mother, like daughter.

Downers Grove North senior volleyball player Nora Benjamins admires all that her mother, Maureen, has accomplished.

Maureen is a senior research fellow at Sanai Urban Health Institute and is an associate professor of medicine at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

And before all of those elite accomplishments came to fruition, she played college volleyball at Duke.

Nora, a 6-foot-2 middle hitter, is looking to follow in Maureen’s footsteps in regard to playing college volleyball and then heading into a career in medicine.

“She played college volleyball and was pre-med, so I’m doing exactly what she did.”

– Nora Benjamins on following in her mom’s footsteps

“I have always wanted to go into medicine,” Nora said. “I grew up around it a lot. Medicine is something I’ve known I wanted to do with my life.”

Thanks to mom.

“I’ve copied her with everything,” Nora said of Maureen. “She played college volleyball and was pre-med, so I’m doing exactly what she did.”

Nora won’t be playing at Duke, however. Her school of choice is Holy Cross, and the recruiting process had a hiccup or two before she was able to put the hammer down on a decision.

Nora Benjamins, middle, and her Downers Grove North teammates celebrate a point in the Wheaton Classic in September.
Photo by Jeff Vorva

“They were on my original list, which was super important because I’m going into pre-med,” she said of Holy Cross. “They had a coaching switch pretty late in the season, and they reached out to me in late July, and I had a visit out there and loved it. It was perfect.”

She had some choices, including Lafayette, West Point, and other schools.

“I was all over the board with schools from the East Coast and the South,” she said.

Her end goal is to be a neurologist.  

Meanwhile, she is not looking too far ahead because the Trojans have been eyeing another big season in 2025.

Mark Wasik’s crew opened the season with a 13-4 mark and were ranked ninth in the state in Class 4A in the Michio Chicago/Illinois Prep Volleyball ratings at the end of September.

On Sept. 20, the Trojans beat Loyola Academy, 25-23, 25-22 in the semifinals of the Wheaton Classic. Though they went on to lose to Benet 25-11, 25-16 in the championship, the Loyola win turned out to be important because the Ramblers had beaten state and national powerhouse Mother McAuley in two sets two days before. 

Kelley Crowley led the Trojans with 131 kills, and Nicole Liu had 114. Benjamins came up with 66. Crowley (22), Liu (21), and freshman Madi Mastalarz (20) led the team in aces.

Sienna Shelton (32) and Benjamins (29) led in blocks. Ellery Cabaj led in digs with 120, with Angelika Krob adding 116. Cabaj, a sophomore, has 173 assists, while Mastalarz had 172.

Benjamins knows the team’s play resembles a rollercoaster at times, with some ups and downs, but she has faith in her teammates.

Nora Benjamins (13) celebrates a Wheaton Classic victory with her teammates in September.
Photo by Jeff Vorva

“We have a pretty young team,” she said. “We have new players and we’re learning to play together.”

In the classroom, Benjamins said she has a weighted 4.35 grade point average.

Managing the books and the blocks is not always easy.

“It’s a lot of work, but I really enjoy it,” she said. “A lot of classes I’m taking are pre-med focused. Obviously, time management is huge, and I use every possible moment to get my work done. I have a planner and I write it all down. It’s nice and colorful. I have a very detailed calendar as well because I’m going to a lot of different places all the time.”

Benjamins played soccer growing up, but switched to volleyball in eighth grade.“When COVID started, that’s when I started to get into volleyball,” she said. “I started it then, and I haven’t stopped yet.”

It’s a sport she has quickly grown to love.

“I love the competition,” she said. “I’m a big fan of any competition. It’s really fast-paced and a lot of people think it’s too hard, but I think it’s so much fun to go up and hit and block.”