Cardinal Mooney High volleyball out to prove doubters wrong

The Cardinal Mooney High indoor volleyball team knows what the outside perception of the program is in 2023.

The Cougars, perennially one of the top programs in Florida and the 2019 Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A state champions, have lost a lot of proven talent via graduation since last season ended. That includes two-time Gatorade Florida Player of the Year Jordyn Byrd, who is now playing for the University of Texas. Byrd led the team with 571 kills and 52 aces in 2022. She is not the only key loss. Also gone is Madeline Carson, who had 163 kills and 43 blocks; Sawyer DeYoung, who had 127 kills, 38 aces and 257 digs; and Gracie Page, who had 51 aces and 109 digs. 

Cougars Head Coach Chad Davis understands why these roster losses have some in the volleyball community doubting his team's ability to compete at the same level in 2023. From a distance, Davis said, it's a reasonable thought.

What people outside the program don't realize, Davis said, is that the opposite is true. The names on the roster might be less recognizable, but if things go the way Davis believes they will, the Cougars will be just as dangerous — and perhaps more so. 

"The true mark of a program is player development and the buy-in from your kids," Davis said. "We lose a good 85% of our offense, but look at who is returning. Riley (Greene, junior middle hitter) is ready to become the next dominant player in town along with Izzy (Russell, junior outside hitter). Helena (Hebda, senior setter) has been a stalwart here for years. Our other setter, Layla (Larrick, sophomore), is awesome. We have the best libero in the area in Katie (Powers, junior). We return all of our other defenders and we have some stud freshmen. But people look from the outside and can't see that yet. By the time this all gets done, we're going to be in the mix for sure." 

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Davis said his confidence in his group stems from getting to watch them year-round. Davis is the director of Sarasota Juniors, an elite club volleyball organization. Davis said almost the entirety of Mooney's 2023 roster plays for the club and gets constant high-level coaching. Aside from Davis, Sarasota Juniors' coaches include Nancy Hopper, who earned Florida Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 while at John Carroll High, and Jac'cara Walker, who played college volleyball at the University of South Florida and was an All-American Athletic Conference First Team player in 2018, among others. 

Not only does this help the players' skills, Davis said, but it allows them to build chemistry with one another. Davis said the team's feel for one another is its biggest strength. They support each other, he said, but they are also unafraid of pushing each other to constantly be better. 

At an afternoon practice Aug. 28, Mooney players wore black T-shirts that read "Prove 'em wrong" on the back. If the Cougars' returning players are concerned about the players now gone, they didn't voice it. They voiced confidence. 

"We have new people stepping up," Riley Greene said. "We're focused on showing everyone that we're still good. We just have to put our practice skills to work in the games. As long as everyone comes together, it's going to happen." 

The team has demonstrated its prowess early. The Cougars (2-0) beat Port Charlotte High on Aug. 22 and beat Palmetto High on Aug. 24, both by 3-0 margins. Through two matches, Greene leads the team in kills (17) and blocks (5). 

Izzy Russell, who leads the team with 21 digs, said defense is the team's biggest on-court strength at this point. The team trusts each other, Russell said, which means the Cougars don't have player moving out of position to reach for balls their teammates should get. 

The community will soon get a good sense of how good the Cougars are and how far they still have to go. Pending the effects of Hurricane Idalia, the team will play in the Nike Tournament of Champions Southeast on Sept. 1-2 in Wesley Chapel, starting with a match against St. Agnes Academy of Memphis, Tennessee. While MaxPreps has not released a ranking for Mooney yet in 2023, St. Agnes is ranked as the No. 7 team in Tennessee. 

Davis said he wants to see his team not being hesitant against big-time competition, which is something he and the Cougars have already discussed. The only result that would be disappointing is seeing his team intimidated by someone else, Davis said. As long as that doesn't happen, his team will get better from the experience and stay on track to be where he thinks it can be at the end of the year. 

"It's going to be fun," Davis said. "This group of kids is working hard. We're super young and everyone expects us to take a downturn, but that's never going to happen here. It's time for our next group of kids to start becoming known."