This is an experienced, balanced, talented team. Cathedral High School 2025 girls volleyball team is those things – and it’s something just as important as the season approaches: A focused, prepared team capable of a deep tournament run. This can be a special season, and special is the goal. “It’s real exciting right now,” Irish girls volleyball coach Carrie Quenichet said. The Irish, after an injury-defined season in which they finished 22-11 and lost in a Class 3A regional championship match to Tri-West, enter the 2025 season as one of state’s top Class 3A programs. “We’re very balanced,” Quenichet said. “We are solid in every single position. We have kids who have played the highest level of travel ball at every position on the floor.” Added Quenichet, “We’re deep and we have experience.” The Irish also have a strong, versatile lineup that can attack and defend with multiple combinations. “There are times we are going to have a setter and five hitters out there, which is a great position to be in,” Quenichet said. “It’s fun to that versatility we're going to be able to have in our defensive systems we choose to use. “We have different types of players that can execute well.” The Irish in 2025 are led by a strong group of seniors: *Defensive specialist/setter London Murray, who missed her junior season with a shoulder injury. *Setter Mia Stubbs (96 digs, 340 assists in 2024 *Middle blocker/outside hitter Avery Lewis (204 kills, 77 blocks, 38 aces in 2024), a second-team All-State selection as a junior. *Libero Annabelle Hoban (67 assists, 24 aces in 2024 It’s a foursome with extensive talent and experience that has been key to the Irish for the past several seasons – including a difficult 2024 season in which injuries hurt the team’s chances for a deep postseason run. Quenichet called the group “four great seniors with great leadership, which will be nice to have with a group of juniors who have been earning varsity experience for two years.” Key juniors include: Outside hitter/opposite Hayden Mandsager, outside hitter and second-team All-State selection Caroline Hanchar, middle blocker Chloe Moss, setter Celeste Mariani, outside hitter/defensive specialist Sydney Matthews and middle blocker/opposite Sophia Farah. Mandsager, who will play collegiately at Ball State, also missed much of last season with an injury. She finished the season with 38 kills and 11 aces. Hanchar finished 2024 with a team-high 339 kills, 37 aces and Moss led the Irish with 107 blocks. “They have more experience at this point as juniors and seniors,” Quenichet said. “They have been on the varsity court playing one of the toughest schedules in the state for a couple years now and then also lived through the season that they had last year.” Also key for the Irish in 2025: Sophomore outside hitter Blaine Adams, sophomore defensive specialist Reagan Futa, sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kourtney Wilson and freshman setter/opposite Alaina Sloan. “The assistant coaches and myself, we just keep smiling,” Quenichet said, “because they’re not working on nerves and not feeling insecure because they don't know their position. They're very secure in who they are, what they are, what they've been through and what they want to do next. It's a good place to be.” A key to the season, Quenichet will be staying healthy and peaking mentally and physically for the postseason. “Our biggest goal is, ‘We have to keep these guys healthy through October and November,” Quenichet said. “We have a lot of depth and a lot of experience, especially with people out last year and other people stepping into those roles who also got experience.” And if balancing a talented, motivated roster may not be easy, Quenichet it’s possible because of the veteran, team-oriented makeup of a talented and experienced group of upperclassmen focused on one objective. “We really want to utilize that depth so that everyone's healthy when we get to October and November,” Quenichet said. “That's probably the biggest thing we're talking about, but also the toughest thing because we have a lot of ambitious kids who all want to be on the court all the time. “It's, ‘OK let's pace ourselves. Let's make sure we're using everybody because we can and we're not going to lose a step by using everybody and then we can all be healthy and we can all be stronger for it when we come to October, November.’ “That’s the No. 1 goal: Stay healthy to peak at the right time.”