Anyone in the stands for a Hahnville volleyball game over the past few seasons knows the scenario well: Mariah Mott receiving a pass from her setter, leaping high into the air and slamming a thunderous kill through the opposing defense.
It never failed to garner a strong reaction from the Tiger fans in Boutte – and Mott loved creating those moments.
“It’s an incredible feeling when you get that perfect kill,” Mott said. “I liked to add a little stare down to it – kind of like, you guys didn’t dig that or block that.”
Those were the kind of momentum-shifting plays Mott was known for over a dominant career as a Lady Tiger. As a senior, she led the way for a Tigers team that reached the state volleyball tournament for the first time in a decade. Mott has been the most dangerous offensive threat for Hahnville, and her skills were noted and appreciated by college scouts: she’s headed to Southern University on scholarship.
“We worked so hard (to reach state),” said Mott. “The eight seniors, we knew it was our time. We saw the team getting better and better, taking another step each year, all of the bits and pieces of everything we put together. We’d say, ok, we need to come back in the summer and put in the work, prepare ourselves for our district games and playoff season. And we made it.”
It was one of the most successful seasons in Hahnville history. The team went 32-8, including a second-round victory over a strong St. Joseph’s squad, and earned district championship honors along the way.
Mott began playing volleyball around the age of 6. She became more serious about the sport in her 8th grade year when she started playing club volleyball. When her prep career with Hahnville got underway, she began thinking about the potential of playing at the next level, and became determined to work toward making that a reality.
And today, it indeed is reality.
“It’s exciting,” said Mott. “I’m excited to be headed to Southern and to get that chance to experience college volleyball culture.”
Mott said that Southern being an HBCU appealed to her, as did its very strong nursing program. Mott plans to major in nursing – Mott has always looked up to her aunt, who is a nurse, and said she wants to go into a field that enables her to take care of people.
As for what Southern in getting in Mott, she summed up her approach to the game.
“I’m an aggressive player. I don’t really like to lose,” Mott said.
While Mott was very well known for her stellar volleyball play at Hahnville, she was a well-rounded athlete who also excelled in track and field. She also proved a quick study in that department. She joined the team as a junior and helped spur the 4×400 relay team to qualify for the state championship meet that season. As a senior, she was a state qualifier in four events – she was a member of the 4×200 and 4×400 relay qualifiers, while she individually qualified in the triple jump and 300-meter hurdles. She was the regional champion in the 300-meter hurdles, while the 4×400 squad also nailed down regional championship honors.
“Before I became a volleyball person, I was a track person,” Mott said. “I wanted to run track in college. That changed once I got into volleyball, but I figured as a junior it would be really fun to join the track and field team, it’ll keep me in shape. When I got there, I just loved it. I loved the coaches, loved the team.”
Mott was also voted homecoming queen as a senior – an honor she said she was not expecting at all.
In fact, it took a little nudge from mom to run.
“I was never going to,” Mott said. “I told my mom, I play volleyball, they know me from that, but otherwise I just walk around, keep my head down. She was like, no, put your name on it and run.”
Mott made a flyer and soon enough was named among the top 10 vote getters. Still, on the night of the announcement at Hahnville’s homecoming game, she said she was simply happy to be there.
“When I didn’t hear my name called for first or second maid, I assumed that was it, I’m not going to win anything. Then they said homecoming queen – Mariah Mott … it was very unexpected. Somebody told me I had the best reaction to winning it – it was just really unexpected and I was so happy.”
