Loretta Vogel remembers when she first saw Julia Bishop.
The Mercy head volleyball coach watched a St. Sebastian eighth grader with soft hands and a presence as an athlete.
By the time Bishop joined the Marlins as a freshman, Vogel saw something special, inserting her into the starting lineup as the starting setter to run the offense.
“From the very beginning, she knew she had something special with me,” Bishop said. “I was 14. I was like, ‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’
“She put her trust in me right away, which is something you don’t see as a freshman running that much. She just let me run the offense.” Four years, 192 wins, 5,575 assists — third most in Michigan High School Athletic Association history — 233 aces, 600 kills, 967 digs and a Division 1 state title later, Bishop finished her Mercy volleyball career as Miss Volleyball, winning the award from the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association.
Bishop received 227 votes, 35 votes ahead of second-place finisher Jenna Reitsma from Lowell. Mercy outside hitter Charli Atiemo finished in ninth place with 49 votes.
Mercy is the only program with two candidates in the top-10.
One season after teammate Jess Mruzik won the Miss Volleyball award, Bishop, who said she idolized the former Mercy hitter, playing against her in middle school and setting her up for three years, said this award represents much more than an individual trophy with her name on it. It shows what she helped the team accomplish.
“It really shows this isn’t an individual sport,” Bishop said. “It really shows that I can’t do anything without everyone else. So it’s a lot relying on other people as a setter. But it’s obvious that relying means trust and everyone puts their trust in me to make decisions with the ball. And I put my trust in them.”
Atiemo, who has known Bishop since she was 11, describes Bishop as selfless and as an encourager, genuinely caring about the player next to her.
“I think she’s the glue,” Atiemo said. “I think she keeps everyone together. She keeps everyone calm. She holds us, she supports us as a team.”
Over the course of her four years with the team, Bishop said the success came from the team’s chemistry, something that she said is very rare.
Vogel put Bishop right in the middle of that, describing her as a natural leader and one who stepped up in the tough moments throughout her four years with the team.
But as a setter, Vogel said Bishop shined when her outside hitters shined, making them look incredibly good.
“For us, having someone like Jules, she was able to help us develop hitters, even younger hitters, even sooner and understanding to speed up the offense,” Vogel said. “I think that really changed everything for us here, for our program and what we can run, knowing what it going to open everything up. I think it totally changed everything.”
Bishop will play volleyball at Michigan State next season, reaching a goal she has had since her mother took her to East Lansing to watch games when she was a child.
But she said she won’t forget Mercy. She won’t forget what allowed her to become Miss Volleyball. She won’t forget her teammates and what allowed her to set them up for success.
“I wouldn’t be anything without the pass,” Bishop said. “It’s crazy to say, but if the pass isn’t there, the setter can’t do anything.”
Contact reporter Colin Gay at cgay@hometownlife.com or 248-330-6710. Follow him on Twitter @ColinGay17. Send game results and stats to Liv-Sports@hometownlife.com.