- April 30, 2025
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The Cardinal Mooney beach volleyball program had every reason to take a step back this season.
The Cougars have been one of the better teams in the state since the program began in 2022, compiling a 64-7 record and making it to the state tournament each year.
Then, coach Chad Davis, who started the program, stepped down midway through last season, and several players didn’t return this year.
However, those losses haven’t stopped the Cougars from living up to their reputation.
Cardinal Mooney opened the year with a 3-2 loss to Charlotte, but has lost just one match since and is ranked as the No. 11 overall team in the state — third in Class 1A — by the Florida High School Athletic Association.
Some key figures have ensured Cardinal Mooney continues to excel.
Izzy Russell stood alone at the sand volleyball courts at Cardinal Mooney day as her team celebrated her during senior day against Bradenton Christian on April 9.
Russell is the lone senior for the Cougars and will head to Austin Peay to play the sport later this year.
She didn’t envision herself standing alone on senior day when she started playing the sport as a freshman in 2022.
Russell was one of seven juniors last season for a Cougars team that went 19-3 and made it to the first round of the state tournament.
Despite that success, she was the only returner of that group as her teammates opted not to play or to focus on indoor volleyball to prepare for college.
“I was really sad at first because there were nine of us before, and I’m the only one left now,” Russell said. “I was sad to have senior night without all of my friends. I knew this was going to be a tough day, but coming in as a senior I was looking forward to encouraging a new culture and the new freshmen.”
The loss of those players has been felt by the Cougars, but the standard hasn’t changed.
Facing a depleted roster in her first full season as head coach, it forced Gretchen Hand to rely on a team full of underclassmen to round out her top five pairings.
Cardinal Mooney has 11 freshmen and four sophomores on its 19-player team this season, and they’ve stepped up to the challenge against the fourth-hardest schedule in Class 1A.
“I knew what the standard was, and I think all the girls, even the freshmen, know what that standard is and they really try to meet it,” said freshman Brooke Gruhl, who plays in Cardinal Mooney’s No. 2 pairing.
Losing several experienced players and adjusting to new faces is a challenge on its own, but the Cougars had to couple that with transitioning to a new coach as well.
Cardinal Mooney lost Davis midway through last season, who stepped down to pursue other coaching opportunities.
Luckily, there was a replacement on campus who was more than qualified for the position.
Hand played indoor volleyball at the high school and collegiate level (Jefferson College in Jefferson, Missouri) before becoming a professional beach volleyball player. She then went on to coach at Fort Lauderdale High and at several collegiate programs — most recently with UC Davis in 2022.
However, she said that life on the road left her with precious little time to see her then-4-year-old daughter. That led her back to Cardinal Mooney, where she had been an assistant coach with the indoor volleyball team in 2013.
“I just love the Cardinal Mooney community and I love beach volleyball, so it was kind of the perfect transition,” Hand said. “I wanted to raise my daughter in a faith-based community. I really do believe by the grace of God that there was a P.E. teacher position available.”
Though she applied to be a physical education teacher, she didn’t hesitate when asked to step in as an interim coach last season.
Hand led Cardinal Mooney to a 12-2 record over the final two months of the season last year, and that success has continued into last year.
That adjustment appears smooth on the surface, but it wasn’t easy for everyone.
“It was definitely super tough for us as a team, like really sticking together as players,” Russell said. “Some of us had an easier time adjusting to a coaching change, and some people were still stuck on the last coach. We were adjusting to new policies, and most of us had the old coach for three or four years because he was also our old coach, and we were really used to his system.”
Practice drills and playing styles aside, Hand is most concerned with the culture she’s trying to establish at Cardinal Mooney.
That culture looked as if it had firmly taken root in a 3-2 win over Bradenton Christian on April 9. Russell and playing partner Kelsey Fisher didn’t play until the final match of the afternoon, but were dialed in to the other matches to give advice and encouragement to teammates.
When it was time for Russell and Fisher to play, the entire Cougars team packed the sidelines to cheer on every point.
“You won’t see us sit down,” Hand said. “You won’t see the coaches sit down, and you won’t see our kids sit down. We really believe in supporting each other. If someone needs water or Gatorade, we’re going to run and get it for each other. We’re not ever going to let anyone down. That’s our goal.”
The Cougars are about to see how far their new players and culture can take them.
With the regular season now over, Cardinal Mooney will open play in the 1A-District 11 tournament on April 22.
