Ten months ago, Cam Hannah helped Penn State win a NCAA volleyball national championship. On Tuesday, she sat on the bench as an assistant coach for No. 19
Marist (Chicago) as the RedHawks fell 2-0 No. 17
Benet Academy (Lisle) in what could be an Illinois postseason preview.
Hannah, who played for Marist and coach Jordan Vidovic from 2016-20, could add a third ring to her jewelry case. She won a state title with Marist in 2018 and hopes to help the RedHawks (21-5) to a repeat in a crowded Class 4A field that features three teams in the MaxPreps Top 25.
"We've benefited a ton," Vidovic said of having Hannah joining the staff. "It's good for her game and, selfishly, I think it's awesome to have to have perhaps the best female athlete to go through this school (on staff).
"The players were insanely excited and want to get as much out of her as they
can. Her example is great. The second she walks in the gym she's on it.
That's how she was as a player."
Marist assistant Cam Hannah talks with libero Elayna Davidson during a match at the Durango Fall Classic. Hannah, who won an NCAA title last season at Penn State, has come back to help her alma mater and coach Jordan Vidovic this year while she trains for her upcoming season with the Indy Ignite pro team. (PHOTO: Jenni Webber)
Hannah said the transition from player to coach wasn't difficult.
"It's a different feeling," Hannah said. "I don't get up to put a jersey on, but more
like hope they will play to their full potential. I like instilling the killer mentality. Something I learned is that good teams are going to do good things, but how you respond is what sets you apart."
Vidovic and Hannah had stayed close after she left to play at Clemson and then with the Nittany Lions. When she signed with the Indy Ignite of the Major League Volleyball she started working out at the school while staying with her parents and an idea was hatched.
"She was coming in to Marist to pass because she wanted to extend her game," said last year's MaxPreps National Coach of the Year. "She's loved working with our girls and her presence itself is something you can't replace with all she's experienced in volleyball."
"They all want to pick your brain. They want to learn so bad," Hannah said. "It makes me to push myself to help teach. I love coaching and something I want to do, but I'm not done playing yet."
Hannah was a MaxPreps All-American at Marist before three years at Clemson and then two at Penn State. She had 19 kills in the championship match against Louisville for coach Katie
Schumacher-Cawley, who ironically went to Marist rival Mother McAuley (Chicago). "I wanted to play for something more and have a chance to play at a
higher stage," Hannah said. "I left (Clemson) on great terms and realized I was where I needed to
be at Penn State."
Vidovic said the coach-player dynamic has grown into a peer-to-peer relationship and that Marist is better for it.
Marist coach said having former player and NCAA champion Cam Hannah as an assistant has been invaluable as the RedHawks try to repeat as Class 4A champions. (PHOTO: Jenni Webber)
"She's grown so much and I understand why she was so successful those last couple of years," Vidovic said. "She understands the game so well. ... I've learned a lot from her perspective."
It's a sentiment Hannah shoots back with the fierceness of a block at the net.
"I'm always amazed how effortlessly he comes up with ways to do new things," Hannah said. "He's been doing this at a high level for so long and is still comfortable trying new things that might not work, but is willing to try. I don't know if I realized it when I was playing."
