'She's always been great': Quincy High volleyball coach makes program history

QUINCY — The Quincy High girls volleyball team is one of the best South Shore teams rolling right now. We all knew that.

So much so, the Presidents sprinted to history, which was far more understated.

On Wednesday, Oct. 2, Quincy earned a four-set win over Whitman-Hanson to gift Jacqui Niosi her 300th career win as head coach of the girls team. Three days later, the school's athletic department X page broke the news online, which is how a few players found out.

It is believed that Niosi is the first in program history to achieve the 300-win milestone.

“She didn’t mention it at all," senior Callie Allessandro said with a laugh. "She's very, very humble."

Niosi, who is in her 18th season leading the girls team and 11th season leading the boys volleyball team in the spring, was a Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic and four-year varsity player during her high school days as a Quincy High Class of 2001 graduate. She was elected to the Mass. Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2022.

But as Quincy (13-1) won again, this time with a sweep of North Quincy on Tuesday as the team enters the home stretch of the regular season, Niosi has been here once or twice before.

302 times, to be exact.

“She’s always been great," senior Destiny Francis said. "I think it was just another day for her. She’s really proud of us, and we’re really proud of her.”

“(300 wins) means I’ve had the opportunity to coach a lot of great kids, a lot of great female athletes who work hard," Niosi said. "There are only a few games where you feel like, coaching-wise, we help a lot. The kids are the ones doing the work.”

The Presidents, according to MaxPreps, have had 11 winning seasons since 2012. One of the best came in 2020, a campaign in which Quincy finished undefeated (13-0) and claimed the one-and-only Patriot League Cup trophy over Duxbury as Niosi earned MIAA Coach of the Year honors.

Niosi cited her high school coach Tom Henderson, a fellow Mass. Volleyball Coaches Association Hall-of-Famer, as her inspiration.

“We weren’t as good (when I played) as we are now," Niosi said. "But I learned so much from Hendy. He always pulled you aside and told you why what you did was a good or bad decision. And that’s something I try to do when I’m coaching."

2024 Presidents are much-improved

Quincy entered this season on the heels of a 9-14 season last fall, its lone sub-.500 run in the past decade.

The steak of tournament berths stayed alive, though, as the team nonetheless earned the No. 30 seed in the Division 1 bracket and swept its preliminary round matchup of No. 35 Malden en route to a 3-0 loss to third-seeded Barnstable in the Round of 32. Six seniors graduated in the offseason.

So far this fall, nine of Quincy's 13 wins have come via sweep and the team has yet to play in a five-set contest. North Quincy dealt the Presidents their lone loss in four sets on Sept. 16. Quincy was ranked No. 12 in the most recent MIAA Division 1 state tournament power rankings.

“Last year was a big learning year for a lot of our players," Niosi said. "We had a couple freshmen starting on varsity, a couple juniors that didn’t have a lot of experience. Coming back this year, there’s a big difference. Our defense, too -- we’ve been really focused and purposeful when we’re hitting.”

Francis and senior Alyssa Hopps combine to assemble an offensive presence at the net that few can rival. Both high-flying outside hitters, Hopps is an All-Scholastic basketball player in the winter and Francis has improved greatly since not having any volleyball experience prior to signing up as a freshman in 2021.

“They’re a nice combo up there," Niosi said. "They both work really hard, they’re focused and they hustle. They’ve been working on changing up what they're doing, not hitting in one direction all the time and being confident. ... And when Destiny hits the ball the way she can, it’s hard to not get excited about it.”

Hopps is one of the six basketball players co-starring for the volleyball team this fall, joining senior Ella Roche, junior Taylor Mann, and sophomores Frankie Diaz, Rory Kennedy and Evalyn Catrambone.

It's been all hands on deck bringing to life a nine-game winning streak, the program's longest since 2021.

“We set one team goal and then personal goals for each practice," Allessandro said. "Then after that practice, we see if we met it and see what we can do to improve on it.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 'She's always been great': Quincy High volleyball coach makes program history