Capping A Stellar Volleyball Career

Having arrived in the Diocese of Evansville less than 18 months ago with virtually no knowledge of our 12-county Catholic family, the email that arrived five weeks ago from Mark Hackert shocked me.

“Thought you might want to know this about Anna’s twin sister,” he wrote, “who is playing volleyball at St. Xavier University in Chicago.”

Wait … what?! Anna has a twin, and she’s playing college volleyball?!

Mark – Marie’s and Anna’s proud Dad – included a link that introduced me to the “other” Hackert twin … the older one, as she pointed out in an email conversation from college.

“Even though I’m the older twin, I definitely look up to her,” Marie said of Anna, who has started her senior season with the University of Southern Indiana women’s basketball squad. Separated by roughly 300 miles, each sister has excelled in college athletics. While Anna is putting the finishing touches on her basketball career over the next few months, Marie recently capped her volleyball-playing days by earning selection to the all-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference volleyball first team – for the second straight season.

She led the Cougars in attack percentage (.287) as a senior, and finished second on the team in kills (356) and total blocks (106). She ranks in the top 20 all-time at St. Xavier with career numbers of 922 kills and 335 total blocks. The Cougars finished 24-16 this fall and advanced to the CCAC semifinals, where they fell to No. 1 seed Cardinal Stritch University.

“I don’t know where the time has gone,” Marie said of her college career, “but my body is definitely beaten up and ready to be done!”

Had it not been for Anna, Marie might never have gone so far in sports. “I think her competitive nature helped keep me engaged in sports,” Marie said. “She always wanted to play one-on-one with me when we were younger, and she’d have to bribe me to go play by doing my chores for me.”

From St. Benedict Cathedral School through a 2011 state basketball championship as seniors at Reitz Memorial High School, the twins shared plenty of “game time.” Then, however – for the first time – they chose different college paths.

“I think being away from home can be difficult for anyone, but it was really something I needed,” Marie said. “Being a twin … all my life I have had my other half with me as a support system – and at times as a crutch. I really wanted to go somewhere that I could thrive on my own, and evolve as an independent person.” She said the city also has stolen her heart, and she hopes to find a job there after graduation.

“I'd love a job that would keep me in the city,” she admitted. “Nothing fancy; I wouldn't mind working for a nonprofit.” With a degree in graphic design/marketing, Chicago appears to be a good fit for her.

Before getting to work full-time, however, Marie is planning a missionary-service trip through St. Xavier – to Belize. “Over the last 3 years,” she said,  “I have participated in service trips to Nazareth Farm, W.Va.; Walls, Miss., and Glenmary Farm, Ky. This May, I hope to travel to Belize on a service trip through SXU to continue my path of service.”

She said those trips, collectively, are just one way her Catholic faith shapes her life. “My faith has been enormous,” she said. “Campus ministry at SXU has given me so many opportunities that I never would have imagined. I have also been on and led several retreats. My faith has allowed me to experience service in a tangible way, and to use this service to spread my faith.”

Marie said she made many friends through those experiences at SXU. They join a very close-knit group she and Anna are part of from their days at Memorial.

“I have a group of about 16 people that I have been friends with since sophomore year,” she explained. “We try to stay connected, and get together whenever we can over breaks. It has definitely been a while since we have been all together, but we do our best to keep track of each other. Over the last seven years, we have all become almost like siblings.”

“We live very near St. Benedict Cathedral and Memorial,” Mark Hackert said recently. “Those other kids were always at our house after school. We just came to think of them as bonus children.”

“I think Memorial is a special place to go to high school,” Marie added. “You can't help but stay connected with the majority of your class, and everyone wants to stay connected. It has a deep-rooted tradition that's hard to turn your back on, so staying connected after high school is really easy.”

Listening to her talk about the past four years, one gets the impression that Marie will hold similar affection for St. Xavier. “My time at SXU has been more than I ever could have pictured,” she said. “I came here not knowing a soul, and have managed to meet a lot of inspiring people.”

It’s a safe bet that her performance on the court and in the classroom – and her work in campus ministry and as a retreat leader – have inspired others, too. She said she never set any goals – especially in athletics. “I just wanted to play and to enjoy playing,” she offered, “but I can't help but be grateful for the levels I have achieved.”

And in spite of the inevitable transition to a life without sports, Marie sounds more-than ready for her life’s next chapter.

“I have been involved in sports my entire life, so it will be a little weird to lose the team atmosphere – to not be in the gym everyday,” she said. “I am excited for the free time that I will get back. I will have more time to devote to my art, to explore Chicago, and to just really fully enjoy my last year at SXU.”