- September 17, 2024
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At the Cardinal Mooney High indoor volleyball team's scrimmage Sept. 9, there was one consistent command from first-year Head Coach Allan Knight.
Pick up the pace.
Each side made rotations to give different looks, and players subbed in and out, but the call for speed remained. The players say it's the biggest difference in the Cougars' play this season, though it took time to adjust to the higher speeds. As the team worked through summer practice, it started to find the right rhythm, and the team hit the regular season on a roll.
As of Sept. 9, Cardinal Mooney's record sits at 9-2, with both losses coming Aug. 31 at the Nike Tournament of Champions Southeast event in Orlando. Not only were those losses to powers St. Louis Incarnate Word Academy (6-2) and Fort Lauderdale's Pine Crest High (7-2), but the Cougars were missing junior setter Layla Larrick to injury and senior middle hitter Zoe Kirby to college visits. Both games ended 2-1. With a full lineup of players, senior outside hitter Izzy Russell said, the team feels as though it could have won both matches.
Besides those two, Cardinal Mooney has breezed through its competition. In the team's nine wins, it has lost just three sets — two coming in what players called their biggest win yet, a 3-2 road thriller against perennial state title contender Calvary Christian on Sept. 5.
In that match, they said everything came together, even after they dropped the first set. The Cougars played fast, and they played together. Their speed opened up the net for their hitters, creating easy opportunities for kills. When the match came down to a decisive fifth set, Cardinal Mooney found some grit to go along with its frenetic pace of play and won the set 15-8.
The team's dedication to speed serves another purpose. Knight said the rapid pace of play is more in line with how college volleyball is played, giving players in the program a head start when they get to the next level. Russell, who committed to Austin Peay State University on Sept. 1, said she is glad to have that advantage.
The breadth of talent on Mooney's rosters shows in its stats. Russell leads the team with 81 kills, but three others — sophomore Charlee Hermann (58), senior Riley Greene (54) and sophomore Sydney Sparma (42) — have more than 40 kills. Russell (15), Hermann (13), Greene (12) and senior Katie Powers (11) all have double-digit serving aces. Senior Bridget Gallagher (114) and Larrick (101) get assists for their well set-up passes. Powers (120), Russell (84) and Sparma (71) lead the way in digs.
It's a balanced lineup that the Cougars believe can carry them where they want to go, even as others in the volleyball community doubted how the team would adjust to its new coach and style of play.
"Keep an eye out for us," Larrick said. "We're coming."
It is that attitude that shows in everything Cardinal Mooney does, even a preseason bowling event at Sarasota Lanes. Larrick said the event was competitive, with even Knight trying to finish with the highest score. Kirby said junior Alexis Betz bowled a 115 to take the title. The night was a sign to the players that their chemistry would be as strong as ever.
Knight said he knew of the team's innate talent when he arrived, but the match against Calvary Christian showed him how much they cared.
"That was a huge test against a strong opponent," Knight said. "It was one of those moments where you learn the most about your team. What are they made of? Do they have the stamina? Do they have the energy, the heart, the drive? Can they keep it together under pressure? Winning that one told me a lot."
Knight knows how to evaluate such things in a team. As of Sept. 10, Knight is nine wins away from 500 for his career, and he won state titles at Bishop Moore Catholic in 2015 and at Timber Creek High in 2008. Does this Mooney team have the same qualities of his former state champions?
They have the potential, Knight said. That potential will not mean anything if it goes unfulfilled. That is why Knight pushes the team as hard as he does in practice, and why he does so with as much positivity as criticism. He wants the Cougars getting better each day, in order to be at their best when the postseason begins in mid-October. When they struggle, he wants them learning from those struggles.
Knight cannot predict the future, but he said he feels good about his team's chances of making a deep run.
"This is a special group of girls," Knight said. "They love being in the gym. They love practicing. They don't mind the hard work. That desire to be here every day is huge."
