WHITEHALL – In volleyball, Whitehall’s Maggie Evans was the lower-profile hero who did a lot of the hard work to set up the big scorers.

She didn’t get as much attention as the point producers, but she was a big reason why the Vikings won the West Michigan Conference title last fall.

In soccer Evans draws a lot more attention, because she is the big scorer. She leads the area with 30 goals this season and is also Whitehall’s all-time scoring leader.

She broke the previous career record of 77, set by her sister Hanna Evans, last season.

“Every game, I knew she’d score at least once if not more,” said first-year Whitehall head coach Adam Prince about his star senior. “I could tell she was a special talent and she had the full package.”

“After my freshman year we knew it was coming,” Evans said about breaking her sister’s scoring mark. “It feels awesome and it’s really cool. I know how hard she worked for it and having it be her to pass is super cool.”

Evans didn’t stop after passing her sister, of course. She hit the 100-career goal mark this season and is currently at 109 as districts begin and her career nears its end.

“That was very exciting,” said Evans about passing the century mark. “I knew it was coming up so I had an idea of what was going to happen. But just reaching that milestone was super cool, since nobody has ever done it at Whitehall.”

While her roles in volleyball and soccer are different, Evans is one of those rare athletes who dominates in two sports, albeit it in different ways.

In volleyball she is third all-time at Whitehall for assists in a season and is among he top three for assists in a career. She  was selected three times for the All-Conference team, twice for the All-Region team, and was honorable mention All-State as a junior and third-team All-State last fall.

Whitehall volleyball Coach Ted Edsall calls her “the best leader and teammate I’ve coached in 30 years.”

Evans said the role she plays in the two sports actually go hand-in-hand – and the sport she likes the best is not the one she gets the most attention for.

“They play off of each other,” she said about soccer and volleyball. “The conditioning and team skill aspect go hand-in-hand with each other. They’re pretty equal,  but I probably enjoy volleyball a little more in the sport aspect of it.”

Whether it’s on the volleyball court or soccer field, Evans has embraced and excelled in her role as a leader for Whitehall.

“It means a lot,” she said. “Especially with our soccer team being so young. It’s really important to have a leader on the team and someone to look up to. I’m super grateful to be that person.”

That leadership is something that Coach Prince very much appreciates.

“She’s like a big sister to them all,” he said. “Especially to the younger girls. She’s continuously trying to teach them how they should be and what moves they should be making on the field. She’s really a great kid overall, and she’d make any coach happy.”

Evans definitely gives everything she has for her team. Last week, for instance, she suffered some sort of minor injury in the first half of a non-conference game against Western Michigan Christian. The Vikings were losing by three goals and Evans could have easily rested for the balance of the game, but she returned in the second half, even with a slight but noticeable limp in her step.

She knows what’s expected of her, and does everything she can to deliver for the Vikings.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” said Evans about being a dominant player in the area. “I feel it every game, which is why I try to stay calm and play my own game. But the pressure does get to be a lot. I just know I can only do so much. What I put out there is all I can do and I try not to overwhelm myself. Whatever happens, happens.”

Evans is very aware that her outstanding varsity career will be coming to an end very soon. The only question is when, and she would like to delay that date as long as possible.

The Vikings, who were 8-7 overall in the regular season but 6-1 in conference play, will face Fremont on Wednesday in the first round of districts. From that point forward it’s win to stay alive, and Evans will be working extra hard to bring her team a trophy before she wraps up her prep career.

“It would be awesome,” said Evans about what winning a Division 2 district title would mean to her. “It would be the icing on the cake to finally go out and win a district title. We want to do it for our new coach, too, because he’s putting a lot of work in. It would just be amazing for everyone.”