GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: From the cellar to the penthouse, FML champion Holly has resurfaced with high-flying squad
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
HOLLY — When Deena Maher took over Holly’s struggling girls volleyball program before the start of the 2016 season, she quickly noticed a few things that were missing.
There was little history, no school records, no detailed annuals, and very little championships success. In fact, the only championship in school history came back in 1994, when the Bronchos out-dueled Oxford and Lapeer East for the Flint Metro League crown.
The program was also void of a lot of other things — mainly wins. Each year, the Bronchos lacked talent and annually finished below the five-hundred mark. Winning seasons were hard to come by, as volleyball was an after-thought for the top female athletes in the school.
“I looked it up and discovered they only had four wins the year before I came here,” said Maher, a 2004 graduate of Class C Hanover-Horton which was a very competitive volleyball program and where she earned numerous postseason honors for some 15-plus years ago. “I find that unacceptable. For a (Class A/Division 1) school we have to be far more competitive than that.”
Holly improved immensely since then 2015 campaign, and has steadily climbed the charts into being a respected program for the first time in more than a quarter century.
The Bronchos went on to share the Flint Metro League Stripes Division title last season with Flushing. Holly finished a perfect 10-0 this season in the FML-Stripes Division — the first time in school history the volleyball program finished unbeaten in league play.
Back-to-back league championships was just a pipe dream only a few short years ago.
“We have definitely come a long ways the last 4-5 years — a long ways,” noted Maher. “The girls have put in a lot of hard work and have helped us grow as a program. They have set a new standard for Holly volleyball for the younger players to live up to.”
While interest is growing in the lower grades and at the middle school levels, and the number of club volleyball players is rapidly increasing, Maher hopes the climb is not yet completed.
Meanwhile, the Bronchos do have their fair share of talent on this year’s roster. Senior middle hitter Kennedy Hogan (6-foot-2) has committed to Division I Western Michigan University — and college volleyball players to come out of Holly over the years have been few and far between. Senior outside-hitter Paige Weeder and senior twins Sarah Jewell (OH) and Nicole Jewell (S) are also experienced varsity veterans and part of a six-senior group that have helped the Bronchos ascend from the depths.
Sophomore libero Delaney Jenkinson, sophomore Mary Grace Mcaninch (DS), senior Amanda Patterson (OH) and 6-1 junior Marissa Walker (MH/OH) have been key cogs to Holly’s refurbished engine.
Sophomore Maggie Boehm (S), junior Isabella Smith (OH/DS), junior Selah Beeler (DS), senior Hunter Weeder (DS/OH) and junior Macy Martin (OH/MH) round out the deep roster.
“This is probably the best team we’ve had here in a long time,” said Maher, who served as an assistant coach at Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest for two seasons before heading north to Holly. “To win back-to-back league titles and to go undefeated in league play for the first time shows just how hard these girls have worked. I am so proud of them and for what they have accomplished.”
Holly is 18-13-0 overall this season and has played multiple top 20 programs in various divisions and from different conferences across the state.
The reward? The Bronchos will put their new-found mettle to the test this week when they host a Division 1 district that features three other programs that have been either ranked in the top 10 or listed as honorable mention in the MIVCA D-1 polls.
“It is probably the toughest district in the state,” noted Maher.
Holly will tangle with OAA Red Division champion Clarkston — one of the most successful programs inside Oakland County in the past 20 years in the district semifinals. Lake Orion, a three-time Final Four team in the past decade and the 2018 state champions will face Oxford in the other district semifinal matchup.
“It’s going to be tough,” admitted Maher. “Regardless of what happens, the team that wins will have truly earned it. I am proud of this team because just a few years ago we couldn’t have competed against teams like that. Teams that played Holly in (weekend) tournaments must have thought us as an easy win. It took some time to build this up and change (the perception).
“Now we have a bunch of girls who are not only hard-working, but very good athletes and students and a lot of them now play club,” continued Maher. “We have definitely improved in every way.”
Oh, how the tides have turned.
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