Mother McAuley junior Mary Claire Deacy was in a very odd position during her latest match.

For likely the first time in her varsity career, the 6-foot-1 right-side hitter sat the bench.

The reason? It was senior night, and the Mighty Macs have nine of them.

“I loved watching the seniors,” Deacy said afterward. “They have done so much for our team. I feel they deserved this special moment. They have been leaders.

“They have taught this team how to be this team and brought this team together.”

A cheering Deacy still had plenty to enjoy Thursday night as host Mother McAuley rolled to a 25-15, 25-8 GCAC Red victory over visiting Fenwick in Chicago.

Michigan recruit Ellie White paced the Mighty Macs (25-4, 7-0) with seven kills and six digs. Sydney Buchanan added five kills, while Peyton Heatherly contributed 11 assists.

McAuley coach Jen DeJarld painted a fun picture of how Deacy’s learning curve in her career has taken a pretty dramatic turn.

As a freshman, she played with the freshmen. As a sophomore, she played on the JV team.

Sort of like the tortoise.

“She has been kind of ‘slow and steady, win the race’ in how she approaches things,” DeJarld said. “She was kind of cautious and careful.”

But also having fun while learning.

“I was cool with it,” Deacy said. “I think the JV and freshman seasons helped me. It really gave me some good memories. I met some amazing coaches on JV, so I feel it was a good spot for me to get ready for the varsity.”

The tortoise approach ended this summer. Deacy transformed into the hare.

“She really stuck out in camp,” DeJarld said. “It was never a question that we were going to take Mary Claire, but we have been pushing her to be more explosive and attack at a higher level and greater speed.

“She has been working really hard to be more of an aggressive player. Honestly, you kind of live and die by your right-side block because they block the outsides. Your right-side block is so important.”

To that end, Deacy is one of McAuley’s leaders with 58 blocks.

If she had a breakout match, it was likely against Marist at the ASICS Challenge as Deacy recorded seven blocks, including several against Northwestern recruit Bella Bullington.

Deacy has had two other matches with seven blocks, but getting the best of Bullington on a few occasions was special.

“That was an incredible match,” Deacy said, smiling. “The energy in the gym was unmatchable. I knew what I had to do — put up a good block against an amazing team and hitter.

“It was a great feeling. Bella is such an awesome hitter. Being able to even get over and block her was just crazy to me.”

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And Deacy also has a blocking admirer in White.

“That’s something we’ve been trying to work out with her,” White said. “She learns so quickly. She stepped right into it and knew what she had to do. I mean, you can just see how much she wants to get better.

“Mary Claire is never OK with just being good. She always wants to get better at practice and in games. She’s showing the potential she has.”

On the hitting side, Deacy has been productive enough from the right side with 63 kills.

Although she’s a junior and Heatherly is a freshman, they’re growing together as a hitter-setter connection in their first varsity seasons.

“I feel like Mary Claire and I have grown so close on and off the court,” Heatherly said. “She’s always been someone I can talk to, and she has just grown so much with her playing.

“Her swinging, her blocking … she’s good at everything.”