Professor and Peanut lead Pope volleyball

Throughout history, there have been many famous tandems - Batman and Robin, Butch and Sundance, Dani Thompson and Mary Hoey, Lennon and McCartney, Bonnie and ...

Hold on, wait a second. Scroll back. Dani Thompson and Mary Hoey?

You better believe it. While the two seniors at Pope High School in Marietta, Ga., may not be household names around the country, they are as familiar in Georgia volleyball circles as bulldogs, peaches and Coca Cola.

Or perhaps, as Pope coach Bryan Jones suggests, they are better recognized as The Professor and Peanut.

"Dani's nickname is 'the professor' because everything she does is so textbook," said Jones. "Mary's the youngest of four, she was the peanut. It's not uncommon to hear 'go peanut' at Pope matches after a big play."

Both four-year varsity members at Pope, Thompson and Hoey have played on every school and club team together since they were 12 years old. The current edition of the Greyhounds is the 13th different team the pair have played on and since they are both headed to Wake Forest next season, that list should continue to grow.

The two, along with players like Mary Hannah Arrington, Katie Bange and Mikaela Tracy, have Pope ranked No. 1 in the Georgia AAAA state rankings with a 49-1 record. Pope won the AAAAA state championship last year but dropped down to the AAAA division this year. The Greyhounds are also ranked No. 6 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

Last year, both Thompson and Hoey had the distinction of earning state MVP honors. Thompson was the state MVP choice of the Georgia Coaches Association while also earning all-area and all-county honors. Meanwhile, Hoey was named the state player of the year by Gatorade. Hoey is a three-time All-Cobb County Player, a two-time all-area and all-county player of the year and the returning Atlanta Journal Constitution Player of the Year. The two were also named to the MaxPreps Preseason All-American Team.

According to Jones, the two combine to lead the team, but in different ways.

"Mary is a very level-headed person," said Jones. "She seems to always keep the feeling of others first. This is also what makes her such a good teammate. She gives her all for her team match after match. She is driven to improve herself each day."

"Dani is also driven to be the best at what she does," Jones continued. "When she steps on the floor, it's time to get down to business. She holds herself to high standards on the court. She wants to learn as much as she can about the game. She is a great leader through her example on the floor - her never-quit attitude."

The two play different positions with Hoey the team's top outside hitter and Thompson the defensive ace at libero. Hoey led the team in kills as a freshman with 331 and had 519 last year as a junior. She also had 522 kills as a sophomore and is on pace to set the Georgia state record for kills in a career. The state record is reportedly 1,852 by Stacey Plein of Sequoyah.

Thompson has been a record-setter in her own right. As a sophomore, Thompson totaled 516 digs, which crushed the previous team record of 301 (which was held by Mary's older sister Sarah). Last year she added 456 digs.

"Mary has a solid vertical leap and great vision as a hitter," said Jones. "Dani is just textbook passing and digging form. She reads hitters and situations extremely well and always puts herself in the best place to play the ball."

Both Thompson and Hoey were exposed to the sport at an early age. Thompson began playing in middle school.

"My first memories have to be back at middle school when I first started playing in the carpeted gym learning the spots on the court and how to approach," said Thompson. "I didn't really know what I was doing at all."

Meanwhile Hoey remembers following her older sisters around and learning the game.

"I was about 5 or 6-years-old and we used to travel to club tournaments for my sister Sarah," said Hoey. "My dad and my sister Maggie and I used to play a lot of pepper together during the breaks in those tournaments. I started to play organized volleyball in third grade. I was the smallest one there and the kneepads and spandex were kind of loose on me."

Both Thompson and Hoey point to the people who helped them during those formative years as the ones most influential in their volleyball development.

"Maggie and my dad have really helped me develop," said Hoey. "Maggie really helped me know how to be a good teammate, how to work hard and how to be a leader. My dad taught me all of the volleyball fundamentals when I was growing up."

Thompson pointed to Heidi VanBeveren and Jen Weber as the ones helping her become the kind of player she is today.

"The two of them without a doubt," said Thompson. "Jen taught me all the fundamentals of the game and Heidi trained and prepared me physically and mentally. She taught me how to handle nerves, shake off mistakes and exude positivity on and off the court."

Both Thompson and Hoey have decided to play at Wake Forest next year. Hoey has already signed with the Demon Deacons while Thompson will sign in November. Both are looking forward to the challenge.

"I think that it will be incredible," said Thompson. "I am a very competitive person and I cannot wait to play at the highest level against many powerful teams."

Hoey, whose sister Maggie attended Wake Forest, has had her eye on the school for some time.

"Wake Forest has always been my dream school and when they offered me a scholarship, I was very excited," she said. "Not only do I get to play Division I volleyball, I get to go to my dream school and play the sport for them."

Before heading to Wake Forest, however, there is a little matter of a second straight Georgia state title. Last year, the Greyhounds overcame a 13-8 deficit in game five by scoring seven straight points to defeat Walton for the title.

Last year Pope and Walton played seven times with the Greyhounds winning five of the encounters. The two teams have played twice this year, splitting the two matches. The teams won't face each other this year in the finals, though, now that Pope has dropped down to the AAAA level. Walton, ranked No. 1 in the AAAAA coaches poll, is the only team to defeat Pope the past two seasons.

"Walton is our toughest competition in the state," said Hoey. "They have a lot of good players and they get really fired up whenever they play us. But we've beaten them in every tournament we've played against them in the four years I've been at Pope. We are proud of that."

Pope won the area tournament for the fifth year in a row last week, defeating Sprayberry in the process. The state tournament begins Oct. 14 with Pope meeting Forest Park in the first round of sectionals. Whitewater (48-4) and Chattahoochee (47-5) are ranked No. 2 and 3 in the state behind Pope, but the Greyhounds have defeated both teams in straight sets earlier this year.

"We expect to win the AAAA state championship," said Hoey. "Our team is tough to beat because we have some of the best players in the state at every position. Our passing and defense is incredible and we attack very aggressively. Probably the thing that makes us so hard to beat, though, is that we are extremely tough mentally."

Thompson concurred, but didn't make any predictions. Instead she put forth a simple formula for the Greyhounds to follow.

"I expect us to play hard and play as a team," she said. "If we do that, the wins will definitely follow."