Chloe Hoy and Jenna Hash have played volleyball together for a decade, though it took time for them to begin distancing themselves from the net.
Now seniors, Hoy, a libero, and Hash, a defensive specialist, are mainstays in the Franklin lineup.
Their back-row impact, along with senior setter Haley Haldeman, positions the Grizzly Cubs to be a viable contender to capture their first sectional championship since 2011 despite a sub-.500 record.
Franklin faces host Shelbyville in a 7:30 p.m. first-round match on Thursday. Johnson County and Mid-State Conference rivals Greenwood and Whiteland get things started at 6.
Hash and Haldeman are three-year starters for the Cubs; Hoy began making her presence felt during the 2020 season. The three are best friends, and such familiarity can’t be overstated — particularly with the postseason about to begin.
“Me and Chloe first started playing volleyball together in the third grade, but I didn’t start being a defensive player until I was about 12 because I played it in travel volleyball,” said Hash, whose 195 digs are fourth on the team behind Hoy’s 354, sophomore Kennedy Urban (264) and Haldeman (222). “There’s definitely a lot of trust in each other and the communication level is strong.”
Another senior defensive specialist, Paris Johnson, a move-in from Roncalli prior to her junior year, has provided 99 digs.
The experience on the back line benefits the squad’s young front-row players such as sophomores Scarlett Kimbrell (team-leading 220 kills), Brooklyn York and Veronica Whitaker and freshmen Kate Pinnick and Aubrey Runyon.
Another underclassman, junior Ava Pinnick, is a defensive specialist.
“It helps the other girls learn because they’re going to be in our position next year,” Hoy said. “The three of us are really close friends, so I think that connection between us is really good. They know what to say to pick me up, and I can do the same for them.”
Added Hash: “Probably the biggest challenge is that (underclassmen) aren’t totally confident in themselves yet. We just tell them to be confident, and I think that’s a part of our team that has improved as the season has gone on.”
Second-year Grizzly Cubs coach Jess Giles, a freshman outside hitter on that 2011 sectional title team, knows the importance of the leadership her seniors provide.
“They’ve played together forever, and blended together they offer a very solid base of expectation of play,” Giles said. “They try to be good examples for the younger players, and that experience in the back row is so important when we have such a young front row.
“This group also follows a class that had eight seniors, so they’ve assumed this role in one year.”
In September, the Grizzly Cubs swept Shelbyville at home, though the match was very close — 28-26, 25-22, 25-23. They’ve also extended matches to five sets against fellow sectional competitors Greenwood and Center Grove before ultimately falling short.
“I think it’s anyone’s championship, and our girls feel that way as well,” Giles said. “I think it’s going to be a good sectional.”
