Girls volleyball: With Haggerty, St. Francis just keeps winning
There might have been times when she was younger that Molly Haggerty would have chosen to be someplace other than at a volleyball court. But these days the only ones not happy to see her around volleyball are the opponents on the other side of the net.
The youngest of three sisters, the St. Francis standout was often "dragged" to matches while her sisters Megan and Maddie played. While this year's Daily Herald All-Area team captain might still have been experimenting with basketball, gymnastics and swimming and not yet totally bitten by the volleyball bug back then, it didn't take long before she fell in love with the sport and began to grow into one of the top prep players in the country.
Not only has the Spartans' 6-foot-1 outside hitter turned into a dominant player, but she has also made sure her teams do pretty much nothing but win. After Tuesday's sectional semifinal win over a strong Neuqua Valley team, Haggerty and St. Francis are 149-15 since she started on the varsity as a freshman.
Even more impressively, the program is looking to pull off an Illinois first by winning four straight IHSA titles. After winning Class 3A titles the last three years, St. Francis is gunning for a Class 4A crown this month.
"It's crazy. We still have a few matches before state, but no one's ever won four in a row so it would be pretty cool to do it," said the Glen Ellyn resident, who had 9 kills and 7 digs in last year's state finals sweep of Joliet Catholic. "Coming to St. Francis my freshman year I had heard about the tradition and I knew they were used to winning, so that was just awesome to go into that environment right away my freshman year. Just being used to winning and being surrounded by a great coaching staff and great players kind of made me the player I am today."
Not just a hitter
Playing club ball with Sports Performance, traveling internationally and helping win AAU national titles also helped her hone her skills. The University of Wisconsin-bound star even started in the sport as a setter back when she was 13, which has helped both with her own passing today and with clicking with other setters, including Spartans senior Daniele Messa.
"Her work ethic is very strong and she is a leader on the court by example," said Peg Kopec, the Spartans' coach, who in 41 years has compiled a state-best 1,244 victories and picked up 11 championships along the way. "Her passing game is so much fun to watch. She is just as good a passer as she is a hitter. She can step in and set the ball, so if Dani has to play defense, she can step right in there."
But make no mistake, Haggerty's strength is her ability to attack the ball like few others. With 17 kills in Tuesday's sectional semifinal, she has 405 on the season.
"She's just an exceptional hitter," Kopec said. "She just mauls the ball. She can hit any shot. She could play middle if need be. She's very talented and very athletic. She has worked out a lot between junior and senior years and she's a lean, mean fighting machine. She does hit the ball harder than any player I've ever hard."
One of the best
Kopec also puts Haggerty's talents up against all of the great ones who have walked the halls over the years at St. Francis.
"She's pretty amazing. It's hard to compare Molly to some of the other St. Francis girls of olden times because the kids generally are just that much better today," she said. "They've been exposed to more; they have higher skill level and all that type of thing. But if she's not the best player we've ever had she is right there."
It was during a club trip to Japan a few years back when a coach asked Haggerty about changing her game to focus solely on hitting and leaving the setting to others. The transition was an easy and smooth one, but that's not to say there hasn't been a lot of hard work and practice turned in by Haggerty, who as a junior was named to the Champaign News-Gazette all-state team and also picked up the prestigious Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year honor.
"When I was setter I still hit outside because we ran a 6-2, so I was used to hitting," said Haggerty, who will follow sisters Maddie (Central Florida) and Meghan (Nebraska) into the world of college volleyball next year. "I just loved hitting so I made the transition. I think it's just a lot of practice and the timing with the setter has a lot to do with it. I train very hard on jumping, my vertical, and the coaches have always been very helpful with me moving my shots around and being a smart hitter. It's all the little things. It might look easy, but it takes a lot of work to be able to get it down."
As if winning four state titles and excelling at Wisconsin aren't lofty enough goals, Haggerty has plans to play for the U.S. national team and also try for an Olympic spot down the road. With such a well-rounded game already, no one should count her out.
"My goal is to hopefully play in the Olympics and with the national team," said Haggerty, who used to watch her sisters play with former West Aurora and current Wisconsin standout Lauren Carlini, a setter who trains with the national team. "I've been to Japan, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, so I've traveled a lot to play volleyball. I think this experience will help me later on."
But first things first. She hopes to help the Spartans make some more history this month.