Haynes Academy: From Hunters to the Hunted Under Coach Ashley Lala Miller

by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

In six seasons Coach Ashley Lala Miller has built Haynes Academy volleyball into one of the state’s elite programs as two trips to the Division III state quarterfinals and one to the semifinals attests.

Not that the Yellow Jackets, the state’s No. 2 ranked team in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Division III power ratings, have noticed much difference in their transformation from hunter to hunted.

“Personally, I’ve never felt hunted,’’ Haynes stellar outside hitter Marilyn Voitier said. “I’ve never felt like the hunter (either). Every time we walk on the court I feel like we’re the best team out there. I’m just a very confident person. So I don’t really feel a difference because even in years past I’ve always felt like we had the power.’’

“It’s kind of bizarre,’’ Miller said of the hunted-to-hunter transformation from a coach’s perspective. “We’ve always been the really young team. And now we’re the experienced team. So I wasn’t ready for it because we’ve always been the underdog and this year the expectations are so high that it’s kind of strange. But it’s great at the same time.’’

As for her team, Miller said, “They’re good’’ with where they are. “They haven’t put as much pressure on themselves as I thought they would, which is a good thing. They seem to be really level-headed heading into every match and focused. They don’t take anyone for granted.’’

The Yellow Jackets, now 13-2 overall, took nothing for granted Monday in dispatching Division I power Mount Carmel, 3-1, by scores of 26-24, 15-25, 25-19, 25-21 at the Haynes gymnasium. Ranked No. 2 in Division III behind St. Michael the Archangel of Baton Rouge, the Yellow Jackets started strong, overcame a second-set hiccup, and then closed out Division I’s No. 2 ranked team in impressive fashion.

Down 19-16 in the final set, the Yellow Jackets closed with a 9-2 run that featured the power and athleticism of the Voitier sisters, Marilyn and Virginia, and serving by libero Ella Feehan. The Voitiers are returning All-State selections and Haynes’ first All-State players in the sport.

Marilyn Voitier, a junior, had 18 kills, 2 blocks, and 23 digs while her older sister, Virginia, a senior outside hitter, recorded 16 kills, 2 aces, and 15 digs. Feehan had 23 digs, middle blocker Skye Lewis 5 blocks while setters Cameron Vaughn and Isabella Granados combined for 42 assists. Vaughn had 22 assists, 15 digs, and 3 kills while Granados had 20 assists, 17 digs, and 4 kills in the Yellow Jackets’ 6-2 offense.

“Honestly, I never dreamt that I’d coached a team that was as good of a team as my alma mater that I played for,’’ Lala Miller said after the victory. “I am just so ecstatic. I am so proud of the way (Haynes players) fought and the way they played. I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

“It was such an exciting match and I think my girls pulled through. They fought really hard and they pulled it out. I’m so proud of them for never giving up. Because after that second set (a 15-25 loss), we regrouped and they got their confidence back. I always tell them, (how they play is) always up to them. So they pulled through and they played awesome.

“I’m so excited for them. I’m so proud of them. They’ve been working hard for four years and they’re finally getting to reap the benefits of it.’’

Lala Miller would know, having been a high school standout at Mount Carmel playing for Coach April Hagadone. Known then as Ashley Lala, Lala earned state MVP honors in the Division I championship game for Mount Carmel’s 2010 state champions, one of 14 captured by the New Orleans Lakeview area all-girls Catholic school.

Lala Miller went on to play collegiately at Valdosta State where she first earned Freshman of the Year honors in the Gulf Coast Conference before leading the Georgia school as a senior to its first and last conference championship.

A native New Orleanian, Lala Miller would meet her eventual husband Jacob at Valdosta before they settled on the Florida panhandle to begin their immediate family life that now includes daughters Lily, 6, and Lucy, 3. Ashley served as head coach at Pine Forest High School in Pensacola for one year and then two years at Fort Walton Beach High School before getting the call to come home.

Interestingly enough, Lala Miller would replace her mother Dollie as Haynes volleyball coach in 2019. It was Dollie Lala who directed Haynes to its previous greatest heights that included a state quarterfinals advance.

Both of Lala Miller’s parents were Jefferson Parish Public School System high school coaches and teachers, with father Larry serving as a long-time football coach.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,’’ Lala Miller said with pride. “I followed in my parents’ footsteps. So I’ve been around volleyball and sports for a long time. When we started having kids, I wanted to move back home. I have a huge family. I just wanted to be near my family.’’

The Yellow Jackets represent an extension of Lala Miller’s new family that is Haynes volleyball. Her mother Dollie is helping this season as an assistant coach along with veteran coach Mary Ann Marino.

Lala Miller acknowledges forging a bond with all of her players, particularly the six seniors that represent the foundation of a Haynes program still in search of its first state crown.

“It’s been really fun watching them grow up and mature,’’ Lala Miller said. “We have six seniors this year and they’ve been with me from the very beginning, so we’ve kind of all grown up a little bit. It’s been a fun ride with them.’’

The Voitiers along with Granados have been varsity players since the 8th grade with Virginia Voitier being a five-year starter and Marilyn Voitier and Granados being four-year starters.

The trio leads a contingent of seven players listed as returning starters from last season when the Yellow Jackets won a third consecutive district championship to earn a No. 8 seed in the Division III playoffs. The Yellow Jackets defeated No. 25 Church Point, 3-0, and No. 9 Iota, 3-1, before falling in an epic clash against top seed and eventual state champion Hannan, 3-2, in the quarterfinals to finish 28-12.

Hannan’s 25-19, 16-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-11 victory against Haynes quite arguably was the state championship match, just played in the quarterfinals, as the only games the eventual state champion Hawks from Covington lost in the playoffs were the two that put them at a 2-1 deficit versus the Yellow Jackets. Hannan swept their four other opponents, 3-0, including Catholic of New Iberia and E.D. White in the semifinals and finals respectively.

“Obviously our goal is to win a state championship and we talk about that all of the time,’’ Lala Miller said. “But I think we do a good job of not getting too far ahead of ourselves. I think every team’s goal is to win a championship. Everyone wants to win.

“But we do a good job of not taking any teams for granted and knowing that this year teams are going to be out to get us and we can’t take anyone lightly. So we go into every match with a positive outlook and know that we have to execute in order to win.’’

Joining the Voitiers and Granados in the Yellow Jackets’ rotation are Feehan at libero, Lewis as a middle blocker, McKenna Bourg at right side hitter and Cameron Vaughn as the second setter opposite Granados in Haynes’ 6-2 scheme. Lewis and Bourg are seniors like Virginia Voitier and Granados while Feehan is a junior. Senior Laila Fredieu additionally contributes as a serve specialist and defensive specialist.

Senior defensive specialist Claire Cowart, senior middle blocker Kalyn Bibbins, sophomore defensive specialist Sophie Bourgeois, and freshman right-side hitter London Granados complete the 12-player varsity roster.

The Voitiers, Granados, Vaughn and Feehan are five players who basically serve as the core of the team and do not come off of the court, Lala Miller said.

On the season to date, Marilyn Voitier leads the team with 218 kills, ranks second with 144 digs and second with 19 blocks while her sister Virginia ranks second with 196 kills, third with 138 digs, third with 14 blocks and third with 20 aces. Feehan is tops with 197 digs and ranks second with 21 aces. Isabella Granados leads with 34 aces and along with Vaughn rank one, two with 242 and 232 assists respectively. Lewis leads with 30 blocks and ranks third with 61 kills.

As for the top seven and the overall contributions they make, Lala Miller said:

“Ella (Feehan) has been playing awesome for us. She’s very consistent. She averages 4.2 digs per set. Her serve/receive is very consistent which is awesome for us. She always has a positive attitude and she’s a great leader in the back row.

“Virginia (Voitier) has been the starting outside (hitter) since 8th grade. She’s just so fun to watch. She’s a powerhouse. She has done a great job this year about playing very level-headed. She’s matured a lot in the last few years and has improved her consistency. She’s a phenomenal passer and she sweeps up the floor on defense.

“Isabella (Granados) has been setting for us since her freshman year and she has gained a lot of confidence throughout the years. She has beautiful hands and has improved on her consistency on where she sets (places) the ball and has built great connections with her hitters since they’ve been playing together for so long. Also, her defense has gotten really solid the last couple of years and she adds to our team on offense as well.

“Skye (Lewis) is a phenomenal blocker. She actually is a state-champion high jumper. She jumps higher than every girl on every court that we play. She jumps over the block and hits the ball straight down. She’s very hard to stop when she’s on and she doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.

“Marilyn (Voitier) is our other powerhouse. She’s got a really heavy arm swing that’s hard to stop. She’s extremely smart with the ball. She also plays middle blocker and back row, which is a very hard job to do, because the middle blocker has to work really hard in the front row and usually they come out in the back row. But she plays all the way around. She is a great passer as well.

“McKenna (Bourg) is a role player. In order for us to succeed she has to do her job, which she’s been doing very consistently, so I’m very pleased with that. And she’s improved a lot since last year when she was a freshman getting playing time. This year she’s a solid sophomore who brings a lot to our team.

“Cameron (Vaughn) is our other setter. She is great on defense. She is super fast and has a very high vertical for being short. She’s only like if I had to guess, 5-3. She jumps so high and sometimes I’ll watch her play and I’m like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe she just got that (ball).’ So, yes, she jumps extremely high. She’s very quick. She’s good on defense. She’s really smart with the ball in who she sets. She’s doing really well for us.

“Laila (Fredieu) goes in just to serve sometimes and she’s done a great job on going on some runs for us and getting us a lot of aces. Also, she comes in at key points of the game where the pressure is on and she has executed very well for us.’’

Taken collectively, Lala Miller said, “We have a solid, experienced team this year and I don’t think there’s any team that we can’t beat if we play our best. I think the girls and I expect to be in the mix in the (Cajun) Dome in the end and I think this team has the potential to go all the way.

“We haven’t hit our peak yet, though, which is a good thing because we’re only in mid-season and we want to peak at the end. Every good team’s goal is to win a state championship, but I just want us to get better every single match.

“We work a lot on being consistent and being disciplined. And if everyone is doing their job, then we are a tough team to beat.’’

Lala Miller’s players echo much of her sentiments along with some of their own.

“I just think that our team is so very positive,’’ Feehan, the libero, said. “We’re really uplifting (to everyone). It’s really fun to play with these girls. I just feel like so secure with our team. It’s just really fun to play with them. I wouldn’t trade any of them for anyone else.

As for now being among the hunted, Feehan said, “We realize we’re a team to beat right now. Like we ARE the team to beat, so now we have to play our best at every game because (opponents) are coming to beat us.

“I personally like (being the underdog) a little bit better. It gives me more motivation to go out and win. But, being like the hunted, it’s so fun, too. We know we’re on a good team. We have so much confidence. We’re all just positive and uplifting about it. And we fight for it.’’

“Our team, we all trust each other so when the pressure comes on … we have trust in each other. We trust every single person on the court to get that kill or get that dig or get that set.’’

“This season, it’s really great,’’ Virginia Voitier said. “We’re definitely accomplishing great things on paper, but doing with one another is making it how special it is. The team is what is making it so special. Not just the wins and performing, (but) doing it with people I’ve been playing with since I was in 7th and 8th grade.

“I definitely think this year there is new a pressure that hasn’t been present in the past couple of years. But I think as a team we do great at lifting each other up through that pressure and making it feel as if it’s the same that it’s always been.’’

Virginia Voitier, too, said, “I definitely prefer to be the underdog. There’s no pressure and when you do win against big teams it’s a huge deal and it uplifts up your mojo and your ego.’’

Not that Virginia Voitier is looking to go back.

“Getting a state championship’’ is the goal, Virginia Voitier said. “I think we’re definitely capable of doing it.’’

To do so, the Yellow Jackets now must take the next step required to reach the championship round. The Jackets got close in 2022 in advancing to the semifinals for the lone time in school history where as a No. 4 seed they fell to top seed and eventual state champion Dunham, 3-0, at the Cajundome.

Lala Miller believes the Yellow Jackets are on the right path and have been on the right path by concentrating on the process, doing all of the little things correctly that add up so consequentially in volleyball and all sports really.

“I try to stress to them that if we’re doing everything we’re supposed to be doing every day on the regular (basis), then when we get to these big games and these points where the pressure is on us and we have to make these big plays, then it’s not going to be a big deal because we’re so used to playing at such a consistent, high level that it’s just going to be another (repetition),’’ Lala Miller said.

“I stress to them that every (practice) rep is important even when it gets boring. We do some of the same things over and over again, but you’re trying to build your muscle memory into doing the right thing so that when it’s time, you just do it.’’

“We are a very solid serving and serve/receive team which I think is very important on setting the tone for the match,’’ Lala Miller adds. “We’re really great at defense. We could use to run our offense a little bit quicker. I think some of the higher-level teams in the state run a really fast offense that we have trouble keeping up with. So we need to speed up our game a little bit.

“But we’re pretty solid all the way around. Everybody pretty much plays the whole game and these girls have been playing together for a long time, so we’re very solid in every position and as long as everyone is doing their job, we are tough to beat even though we’re not the tallest team in the state.’’

In there is an area for improvement, Lala Miller said, “Consistency is what we talk a lot about. Volleyball is such a game of momentum. If you’re making mistakes, you don’t have the momentum. If we are on, we’re tough.

“Everybody has their struggles with consistency, but I’m hoping that when the pressure is on, we talk so much about doing the little things, that when it’s time to make the big plays, it’s just going to be a reaction and it’s going to be like muscle memory because we work so much on the little things.’’

The Yellow Jackets’ regular-season focus is on winning a fourth consecutive district championship with an Oct. 22 match at Cabrini set for 5:30 p.m. likely to determine the District 8-III title.

“We’re hoping to win a fourth one in a row,’’ Lala Miller said. “I don’t want to sound too snarky. But we better.’’

So let the journey continue, with a berth in the upcoming LHSAA State Volleyball Tournament scheduled for Nov. 14-16 at the UL Cajundome in Lafayette serving as target No. 1 for a team that knows itself.

“I think that we are just an athletic team,’’ Marilyn Voitier said. “We just make those weird plays that no one expects. We don’t play like typical volleyball like you would think. We really never have a game plan. We just kind of go out and we say let’s play Haynes volleyball because it’s different.’’

“We just don’t play like normal volleyball,’’ Feehan said. “We’re not a team that tends to watch film. So we don’t hit to certain spots. We just kind of go out there and play like we play and play our game. I love playing with these girls and I wouldn’t trade them for anyone else.’’

“I definitely have to say we’re different from other teams because we just kind of go out there and play,’’ Virginia Voitier said. “I truly don’t think that we have (a plan where) we’re going here and we’re hitting here and we’re setting here and we’re going there. We just feel the moment and we go out play. A bunch of teams don’t know how to answer back to such un-orthodox play.’’

“The minimum ceiling for this team is a state championship,’’ Marilyn Voitier said. “This is it. This is our year. We are so dialed in for a state championship. Everyone is so focused on this and that’s our goal for the season.

“I don’t think this season could be more perfect for us. This is what we want. This is our style — and that is to be the best we can be.’’