Haynes Gets Hard-Fought Win over Hannan in Division III Volleyball Championship to Claim Program’s First Title

by: Travis Connelley // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

LAFAYETTE – The saying ‘there’s a first time for everything’ rang true for the Haynes Academy Yellow Jackets Saturday in the Division III Volleyball State Title Match as they battled the defending champion Archbishop Hannan Hawks to a fifth set before a late rally helped them claim their first-ever state title. 

“This was our goal, our goal was to win a state championship, and we talked about it from the moment we stepped on the court,” said Haynes head coach Ashley Miller who gave praise to her players on winning the school’s first state title. “These girls are awesome, and they really put in the work. It is these girls; it isn’t about me.”

In the first set, both the Hawks and the Yellow Jackets traded blows as they split the first 10 points of the match. 

After Haynes rallied to score three straight points, the Hawks answered with five to grab a 10-8 lead. 

Towards the latter half of the first set, Hannan built a lead of five, fueled partially by a pair of kills from senior Mia Phillips. The Hawks claimed the first set 25-21. 

The early stages of the second set were a near mirror image of the first. However, this time it was the Yellow Jackets who grabbed the early advantage racing out to a 10-6 lead. 

The Hawks battled back but the Yellow Jackets once again built a four-point lead, this time at 15-11. 

The momentum built from the strong start stayed on the Haynes side as it held on to take the second set 25-22. 

Once again, an even match ensued in the early stages of the third set. Haynes began to get into a groove and built a two-point lead, but it was quickly erased by Hannan who built a two-point lead of its own. The Hawks then grew that into a four-point advantage at 21-17. 

Even though Haynes rallied and pulled within one at 21-20, Hannan put together a run of its own to score four of the next five points to take the third set, 25-21. 

Haynes quickly established its game in the fourth set, racing out to a 9-2 lead. And even though Hannan found its groove, the Yellow Jackets stayed one step ahead and never relinquished the lead in the set, taking it 25-20.  

Early in the fifth set, things looked bleak for the Yellow Jackets. The Hawks began to rally and led by a pair of kills each from Bailey Bevolo and Phillips, Hannan built a 7-1 lead. 

But Haynes showed great resiliency and slowly chipped into the lead. The Yellow Jackets narrowed the gap to as little as three at 12-9 before rallying. They scored the final six points to claim the title. 

Junior Marilyn Voitier led the Yellow Jackets with 28 kills and two aces. Her sister Virginia posted 17 kills, two blocks, and two aces. Virginia, a senior who was also voted the match’s Most Outstanding Player said that winning the award helped complete a series of personal goals of hers. 

“In eighth grade, when I made the varsity team, I wrote on a piece of paper three goals that I wanted to accomplish,” she said. “One was committing, one was winning a state championship and (the third) getting MVP. The fact that I have been able to check those three boxes in the past five years was a sense of relief and accomplishment.”

Hannan head coach Rebekka Bonnaffee admitted that she faced some difficulties early on. 

“We struggled with our hitting, especially in that first game,” she said. “They (Haynes) hit the ball hard and they played good defense today.” 

The Hawks were led by Phillips who had 23 kills and Bevolo who had 20. Avery Lewis posted three aces and 23 digs.