Holy Innocents' Girls Volleyball Team Coming up Golden

by Peggy Shaw

It was Holy Innocents' volleyball’s most golden moment. It came in the Class A finals Saturday when senior Mary Hollis Schmidt pounded out an ace to lift HI to a 25-18, 25-19, 24-26, 25-20 win over Hebron Christian in front of a packed, noisy crowd at Marietta High School. 

Coach Taylor Noland – finishing her third year at the helm - didn’t have the words to describe it as she and her players united in tears of joy at half court at game’s end. 

It was a match where the Bears lost the momentum only briefly – they had two set points in going for the sweep in the third set before the Lions battled back and took the 26-24 win. 

Regardless, Noland’s crew was able to re-elevate – they never trailed in the fourth and final set. 

Sophomore sensation Haley Collins was once again dominant. Her leaping ability and net prowess were evident from the beginning – she had 22 kills and 11 digs to go with several aces. 

The Bears set the tone in Game 1 – reeling off five straight points to go up 7-2 before taking five straight again later in the set to build a 14-5 lead. Besides Collins, the attack was set up by Sarah Porter and well distributed between Sarah Joe (14 kills, six digs), Julia Wright(nine kills, two aces) and Joanna Wright. Schmidt (18 digs, five aces) was a force both serving and defensively; Helaina Theos also served well and was a force on “D”. 

The Lions never got closer than three points in the first; HI put the gas on again in the second by jumping out to an early 11-4 lead. The Lions pulled to within three at 19-16, but Noland’s clan got some good serving down the stretch and some key net play from Kathleen Ford to ice the set. 

Hebron took control early in the third – opening up a 5-1 lead. The Bears would battle back, however, to take a lead at 9-8 and later 24-22 before falling 26-24. 

“T. Nol (Coach Noland) told us after we dropped that set that this was our gym; this was our day,” senior Julia Wright said. “She basically just told us to go out there and get it done and we did it.” 

Apparently her words sunk in. The clinching set saw the two teams go back-and-forth early before the Bears built their biggest lead at 19-13. After the Lions cut it to 21-19, kills by Joe and Collins, a finesse shot by Joanne Wright and Schmidt’s ace ended the day for Hebron Christian while Holy Innocents’ pandemonium ensued. 

HI will graduate four – Schmidt, Julia Wright, Navie Birdwell and Annie Bennett.Others who contributed off the bench this season included Kate Glover, Amelia Rempe and Nicole Cohen.

This was the team’s first ever time in the championship round after several Final Four appearances in year’s past.