Undefeated Hoban enters OHSAA volleyball postseason looking to 'take care of business'

The Archbishop Hoban girls volleyball team is looking to "take care of business" in the postseason.

Hoban handled its business in the regular season with a 22-0 record for the second year in a row. The Knights beat Chardon on Oct. 12 to finish perfect in the regular season before a Division III sectional final Thursday against Youngstown Chaney.

"This is a great group overall," Hoban coach Jim Maloof said. "They have developed over the past couple of years, the IQ and the execution. They are really coming together and jelling. They have that competitive edge where they want to go out there and take care of business."

Hoban graduated just one senior — Sophia Day — from last year's team that finished 24-1 and a Division I district runner-up to Avon. OHSAA's decision to expand to seven divisions in volleyball prompted Hoban's move to Division III.

The Knights feature five seniors this year — outside hitters Amber Watson and Skylar Schmidt, middle hitter Ava Norfolk and defensive specialists Mary Hottinger and Ava Norton.

"We say we over me," said Watson, who is 5-foot-11. "We play for each other over ourselves. Having one senior last year was pretty crazy. That was kind of something that you don't see a lot. Pretty much everyone is back, so that bond is still really strong. We are all really good friends, so that definitely helps when we are on the court. Playing alongside my best friends is so much fun."

Juniors Macie Mintz, Madison Mintz, Kathleen Jones, Kalie Watson and Madeline Olack are key players along with freshman Hope Sherman.

"This is a true team," Maloof said. "Everybody is a solid contributor and, depending on the match and the week, you are going to have players who are at their highs and lows, and there is always a different player stepping up in a different way."

Hoban clicked on Sept. 7 against Suburban League National Conference champion Wadsworth (20-2, 14-0), Ohio Cardinal Conference champion Wooster (16-5, 11-1) and Southwestern Conference champion Avon (20-2, 13-1).

"When we went up to Avon for that one quad, the girls really jelled well," Maloof said. "To be able to go 3-0 in that quad against that competition with Avon, Wadsworth and Wooster, that was huge. To do that on one day against those types of teams was fantastic. We started out a little bit slow against St. Joseph [on Sept. 24], but we picked it up and by that third set we started clicking and by the end of that set we were really dialed in. You look at that match against Magnificat [on Sept. 18] and they were in sync throughout the entire match."

Hoban also beat Highland (18-4, 13-1), Revere (18-4, 11-3) and Copley (16-6, 10-4), three of the best teams in the Suburban League American Conference.

"This is a really special group," Amber Watson said. "We battled really hard this season. We went to five [sets] with Joes. That was a really special match for us. Senior Night [against Louisville on Sept. 26] was really special. I think we are all looking forward to see what we can do in the playoffs. We have a lot of potential."

Watson is a Furman University recruit, Schmidt and Norton have committed to play at Mount Union and Norfolk is set to play at California University of Pennsylvania.

"It is awesome to be on this team," Norfolk said. "I transferred my junior year [to Hoban from Lake], so I got to be a part of last year's season and then this year's. Going on with an undefeated record for both, it truly is amazing. The feeling is great. The team that we have is one that I have never experienced before. I think this season with the tournament is going to be a great one for us to make a long run at hopefully a state championship."

Norfolk has been a participant for the entire season after being limited to the first half of last season, per an OHSAA transfer rule.

Hoban records another undefeated regular season in volleyball with Watson sisters and Mintz sisters

The Mintz twins said Hoban was at its best in wins over Magnificat, St. Joseph, Wadsworth, Wooster, Avon and Avon Lake.

"This team is such a unique group of girls," said Macie Mintz, a 5-7 libero.

"I feel like not a lot of people know how close we are on and off the court. That helps us with our success throughout the year because we are all truly best friends in school and on the court. That has really helped our trust and how we are playing together. ... We really have no doubts in each other and we know how to pick each other up."

Madison Mintz, a 5-6 setter, said Hoban is "really strong in all aspects."

"We have strong pins and we also have very good defense, so in practice we push each other with our hitters and our passers," Madison continued. "We make each other better and our coaching is really good. We all trust what coach says to us and take it to heart. We use what he is saying to improve our skills and work on what we need to work on. All of our positions, we are so strong in everything that it is benefitting everybody else in practice and in games."

The Mintz twins are not the only set of sisters on the team as the Watson sisters also make an impact.

"It is really special because obviously it brings that family element even more to our team with the twins together and then there is me and Kalie," Amber Watson said. "Having all of us four on the court at the same time is so much fun. I am so thankful to play with her and I am going to really miss it next year when I play in college."

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Undefeated Hoban enters OHSAA volleyball postseason looking to 'take care of business'