Franklin outside hitter Rose Mahin, right, powers through a kill attempt against Castle at a Class 4A regional last season.
Daily Journal file photo
As much as Rose Mahin would love to be able to combine her two favorite extracurricular activities, it’s simply not happening.
Franklin’s third-year starter at outside hitter, owner of 572 career kills and 472 digs leading into this season, has been passionate about showing goats ever since she first immersed herself in 4-H as a third-grader.
And yet somehow, the two endeavors, drastically different as they are, somehow complement one another when it comes to the 5-foot-10 junior.
“I want to someday have a career in veterinarian science,” said Mahin, who carries a 4.0 grade-point average and aspires to eventually work as a livestock emergency veterinarian. “I’m someone who truly loves animals and likes to learn.”
Asked which activity she prefers, Mahin thinks for a minute, but is unable to reveal a favorite.
“Oh, that’s really difficult,” she said.
For the time being, we’ll call it a draw, which is an unfamiliar concept to Mahin considering she’s helped Franklin go 50-19 since first stepping between the lines at the start of the 2022 season.
The Grizzly Cubs, off to a 6-0 start this season having won four of their matches in straight sets, features four senior starters in middle hitter Aubrey Runyon, libero Kate Pinnick, defensive specialist Maggie Doty and outside hitter Lizzi Worland.
Mahin’s experience, talent, work ethic and knowledge of the game blend seamlessly to what Franklin attempts to do offensively and defensively. She produced 14 kills in the season-opening shutout at Greenwood and followed with 16 in a sweep of Columbus East, and she’s also contributing as a server (eight aces in a tournament win over Goshen on Saturday) and on the back row (49 digs through six matches).
“I’m just trying to execute more for my team and help create scoring runs,” Mahin said. “We have seven amazing seniors on this team … just how inspiring they are. It’s a class that really does love each other. I think the whole team does.”
Mahin made an immediate and rather convincing first impression as a freshman by ranking second on the team in kills with 264. She followed with 308 as a sophomore, helping Franklin win its first sectional title in 12 years.
She had 11 kills in a 3-0 regional loss to Castle. It marked the 17th time she posted a double-digit kill total, including a career-best 24 in a four-set county tournament loss to Center Grove last season. Mahin has reached double figures in five of the Grizzly Cubs’ first six matches this season.
Through two-plus seasons of varsity competition and her seasons playing travel volleyball, Mahin has expanded her repertoire and adopted a more mature approach during matches. She’s being called on to do more now that two of last season’s top hitters, Scarlett Kimbrell and Brooklyn York, are playing college volleyball at Florida Tech and Hanover College, respectively.
“Just my smartness. Mixing up shots, and being able to see where spots are empty and hitting them,” Mahin said. “And how confident I am. If I make a mistake, I make a mistake. My freshman year, I struggled a little bit with that, but playing club helped me.”
Franklin coach Patrick Carlson feels Mahin’s most significant areas of improvement entering this season are her decision making and passing technique.
“When Rose started for us as a freshman, you could sort of see it coming. The heart. The drive,” Carlson said. “My goal was to leave her in as much as possible and let her learn on the fly. Her motor is amazing.
“Rose is convincing more people to work like her, and it’s by example. They know she’s going to bring it every day.”
