Marist sophomore Elayna Davidson has memories of hanging around the volleyball program since she was in third grade.
It happens when you have three older sisters.
“Just the gym, going in there, I was like ‘Oh, my God,'” Davidson said. “I felt like I was with royalty, being in there with the older girls. I counted down the years.
“It’s really cool now like, ‘This is me. I’m in that position.’ This is what I always aspired to be when I saw them play.”
Davidson celebrated being a conference champion Tuesday night after helping lead the RedHawks to a 25-12, 25-10 East Suburban Catholic victory over host Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights.
Bella Bullington paced Marist (29-4, 6-0) with six kills. Hannah Hosty and Jessica Kurpeikis contributed five kills apiece, while Maddie Berry managed 15 assists. Davidson and Elise Bocanegra each had seven digs. Briana Hill had five digs and two kills.
Carrington Smith led Marian Catholic (11-19, 3-3) with four kills.
Davidson is — if not the flashiest libero in the state — one of most dependable. Her 387 digs puts her among the area’s leaders. She also has 34 aces and 71 assists.
Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said her lack of floor burns is not a lack of desire.
“She’s definitely our defensive leader, and you can see it every single day,” Vidovic said. “She has embraced an even bigger responsibility. She’s more demanding in practice. She’s way more vocal.
“Her competitiveness is just as gritty. She will go after you in practice. She will go after me when I play in practice. She’ll get on you and tell you what you need to do.”
Flying around? That’s something she doesn’t need to do.
“Elayna has that mindset, but she has a good smoothness about her,” Vidovic said. “She reads the game so well. A lot of her movement in the backcourt is happening while the other team has the ball.
“She doesn’t necessarily have to fly all over the ground sometimes because she’s moving before it even happens. Her anticipation sets her apart. I mean, she’s been around the game forever.”
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Davidson is the fourth in her family to play at Marist.
Her oldest sister, Natalie, played on the 2017 Class 4A state championship team and in college at St. Xavier.
Another sister, Sam, graduated in 2020. The next sister, Sophia, graduated in 2023 and now plays at Moraine Valley.
Elayna watched them all.
“I loved it, watching all of my sisters grow up here,” Davidson said. “The program has been like family for so long.”
Elayna was 9 years old when Natalie celebrated winning a state title in 2017 at Redbird Arena.
“It was so awesome,” Davidson said. “It was like watching a college final for me. It was so cool watching all of the older girls play.”
Sophia was in the libero position as a senior last season when she tore an ACL. Just a freshman, Elayna was brought up from the JV team to replace her.
“Sophia was on the bench the whole time,” Davidson said. “She was my main coach, always helping me. She was definitely more wise than me, and she had a lot of pointers to give me.”
Elayna didn’t miss a beat.
“I knew Sophia and I knew she had a little sister coming,” Bullington said. “And so when she came in as a freshman I was like, ‘Oh, wow. She’s really legit.’
“Obviously, it wasn’t the best circumstances when Sophia got hurt, but they really supported each other. It was really cool for me to see.”
As a freshman, Davidson totaled 353 digs, 62 assists and 20 aces. Her impression was indelible.
“She brought such a high, competitive energy to the court,” Hill said. “In games that are slower, Elayna is always someone there to bring the mood up, get us talking.
“It’s really great to play with her.”
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