HOPE — In Hauser’s 10-player volleyball rotation, the surnames Musillami and Clark each pop up twice.
Those four players — two sets of sisters — have helped the Class A No. 8 Jets win sectional and regional championships this season. Senior Sophia and sophomore Adrianna Musillami and junior Andie and sophomore Charlie Clark will try to help them to a victory on Saturday when they play No. 2 Loogootee in the semistate at Jasper.
“They’re great kids from great families, and I really enjoy having them on the team,” Hauser coach Jeff Case said. “They’re the kind of kids you want on the team, and they’re very talented volleyball players, also. They have good leadership, and they’re a very big part of our team and what we’re doing.”
Sophia Musillami is the veteran of the quartet. She was on the varsity roster as a freshman in 2017 when the Jets made their only state finals appearance.
“It really reminds me of my freshman year, being able to sit on the bench as a freshman and watch our team go all the way to state,” Sophia said. “It brings back memories, but now I’m actually getting to play through it, and it’s really exciting having that experience again.”
After playing mostly JV most of her first two years, Sophia had surgery for compartment syndrome on one leg before last season, then the other in January.
“Just being able to have the experience of playing and finishing my high school season is really nice because it is my first official year being varsity,” Sophia said. “It’s just really exciting to be out on the court with the girls and be able to play the sport I love.”
The Musillamis grew up in Columbus, and Sophia was planning to attend Columbus North. But after playing for HAVOC (Hope Area Volleyball Club) as an eighth-grader, she decided to go to Hauser as a freshman.
Adrianna then began attending Hauser as an eighth-grader the next year before joining Sophia at the high school.
“It’s uplifting to see someone who will pick you up and understand you more,” Adriana said.
Andie Clark agreed.
“You know that somebody is going to be there for you,” she said.
Having a sister on the court at the same time can have its downsides at times.
“I think it can be a little bit frustrating because sometimes, they can get not so happy when you lose a point, and they might blame it on you, and it might not be so great,” Charlie Clark said.
“Also, it can get frustrating because you know you can get mad at your sibling and take it out on them, and they’ll be able to handle it, and you can’t always take it out on your other teammates,” Sophia added. “But at the end of the day, we all love each other.”
All four have played key roles in Hauser’s run to the semistate. Andie Clark is the libero and leads the state with 755 digs.
“I feel like last year was a very good starting point to know how to come in this year because of all of our seniors who left,” Andie said. “So coming in and being libero and having to step up after last year helps a lot.”
Adrianna Musillami leads the Jets with 69 service aces and ranks fourth on the team with 253 digs.
“Last year, we were able to see how it works together because we played mostly JV,” Adrianna said. “We got to watch it happen on varsity, and it’s cool to actually be playing this year.”
Charlie Clark plays all six rotations. She is second on the team with 189 kills and 303 digs.
“I think it’s pretty awesome because we’re such a young team to accomplish big things,” Charlie said. “We have really nice role models that are older than us, and they show us how things are done and how they can help us out and lift us up.”
Sophia Musillami can fill in the front row or the back row. She has 66 kills, 62 digs and 17 aces.
All four contributed to Hauser’s rally from a two-sets-to-none deficit to beat Indianapolis Lutheran in Saturday’s Morristown Regional final.
“I think we just need to stay having the enthusiasm and the energy that we had this past Saturday during regional,” Charlie said. “We just need to work hard.”
The Jets know they’ll need that same kind of effort and performance when they face one of the state’s top teams in Loogootee.
“I feel like we have a chance if we work hard as a team together and lift each other up and make sure everybody is staying up and not getting down on each other and just communicating,” Andie said.
“We’re also going have to go in ready to fight because it’s not going to be an easy competition, and it never is at this point of the season because all the teams are really good, and they all have the goal of going to state and winning it,” Sophia said. “So we’re going to have to work hard and push each other, and we’re going to have to be ready to fight for every point and be OK with making mistakes, but not digging a hole and being ready to come back from those holes we dig on accident.”
Class A Semistate Volleyball
Hauser (22-11) vs. Loogootee (30-5), 1 p.m. Saturday at Jasper
Cowan (25-4) vs. Pioneer (28-3), 1 p.m. Saturday at Lafayette Jeff
Admission: $10. All tickets will be presale only and will be available in the Hauser main office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Friday. No tickets will be available for purchase at Jasper. Other arrangements to purchase tickets can be made with Hauser athletics Tyler Phillips, who can be reached at 812-546-4421, ext. 4013, or at tphillips@flatrock.k12.in.us
