By Joseph Halm
VSN Correspondent
Haynes senior Virginia Voitier still has the piece of paper.
When the UAB beach commit made the varsity squad as an eighth-grader, she wrote a list of goals for her volleyball career with her family at her side.
Her sister, Marilyn, then a seventh-grader, also made the varsity team.
Those goals were simple yet lofty — win a state championship, win the championship match MVP and commit to play in college.
In the five years since that moment, the duo has guided Haynes to uncharted territory. The Yellow Jackets have made three straight Cajundome appearances, including a semifinals run in 2022 — the first in school history.
Now, Haynes (7-0) sits atop the Division III power rankings as the once young and inexperienced Yellow Jackets return all their starters from last year’s team.
“We’re experienced,” sixth-year coach Ashley Miller said. “We’ve always been the team that is the underdog and the young team. For the last four years, I’ve had freshmen playing on varsity saying that we’re going to get there one day. Well, now is the time. We’re the experienced team now.”
The Voitier sisters, both returning All-State players, power the Yellow Jackets. Marilyn is averaging 5.2 kills per set, while Virginia adds 4.1 kills per set. They’re a powerful one-two punch, but it’s been a journey for the duo.
“If you would have seen us our seventh and eighth-grade year, we hated each other, but now, we’re inseparable,” Virginia said.
That all started to change Marilyn’s freshman year, and the duo has never been closer.
“She’s my best friend,” Marilyn said about her sister. “I think it makes it 10 times better than I get to do this with her. It’s amazing. I think the best part of all this is sharing it with her.”
Miller said the Voitier’s competitive spirit is infectious.
“They’re great,” Miller said. “They are very powerful, very passionate. They’re very competitive. That’s everything that a winner needs. They’ve got it.”
The sisterly bond has bled over into the entire team, as most starters have been together for several seasons. Senior Bella Granados and sophomore Cameron Vaughn each have over 100 assists in the Yellow Jackets’ 6-2 rotation. Junior libero Ella Feehan is chipping in 3.4 digs per set.
“My freshman year, if somebody did one thing wrong, we might as well have just wrapped it up and left the gym,” Virginia said. “But this year, when we face adversity, we all know how to uplift each other and keep it going in a positive direction. We all know what we have this year is extremely special and we all are cherishing every moment of it.”
But don’t let that fun-loving team on the court fool you; the Yellow Jackets embrace a simple Mantra for success — consistency.
“We need consistency over intensity,” Miller said. “We need to play at a level that is just consistent throughout. We can get excited, but our highs don’t have to be extremely high, and our lows don’t need to be extremely low. I’m not surprised when we beat anybody because I really do expect that from this team.”
Haynes will be tested in the coming weeks as they travel to Country Day on Wednesday, Oct. 2 and host Mount Carmel on Monday, Oct. 7, in a game that will streamed live on VSN. Both matches were rescheduled from earlier in the season due to Hurricane Francine.
It’s the first time that Miller, who was the 2011 state championship MVP for the Cubs, will play her alma mater.
“It’s going to be such a great match,” Miller said. “ A lot of the girls train beach together over the summer, so it’s really exciting for us as a program. I never thought that we could even compete with them, and now, we feel like we can.”
Virginia agreed: “We want to beat these big-name schools as Haynes. A lot of our good friends are on those teams, so it’s definitely fun because over the years, we’ve accomplished a lot of things the school has never done. We want to keep on accomplishing those milestones.”
Earlier this season, Haynes scored its first-ever win over four-time defending Division I state champion Dominican. Now, they look to make school history with a state championship, and while the state tournament is still over a month away, the Yellow Jackets have their eyes on the prize.
“I feel like it would be the biggest accomplishment that I’ve ever had,” Granados said. “We visualize winning (a state championship) every day. That feeling would just be out of this world.”
Miller agreed: “It would be unheard of. Jefferson Parish doesn’t bring home many state championships, so it would be enormous. I would just be so proud of these kids because they can do it, and if they execute it, it would make history for the program. It would be amazing, but we’re trying to take it one day at a time.”
Marilyn said the key to continued success is to stay loose and continue having fun.
“It’s just different than any other school. I really can’t imagine any other team being the way that we are. I love it. I think we have more fun than anyone else,” she said.
“It’s been a crazy journey, but I think it will be a happy ending when we walk away with a state championship.”