Julia Bishop is Miss Volleyball for 2020 — but if she had her way, she’d change the title to "Miss Team Volleyball."
The Farmington Hills Mercy senior spent much of her time at Monday’s award ceremony praising the relationship her team had as well as her friendship with longtime teammate Charli Atiemo who was also a 2020 Miss Volleyball finalist.
“We always push each other to be the best we can be,” Bishop said of Atiemo. “We have very big expectations for each other…. We’re just happy for each other. It’s not about winning (certain awards), because we know that’s not possible without the other person. I would not be this far without Charli, and she knows it’s vice versa.
“As a setter, it’s super hard to win this because I wouldn’t be anything without a pass,” Bishop added. “... So, I think it shows Miss Volleyball… is a team effort. It wasn’t just me.”
Bishop became a four-year starter as a freshman. She helped lead the Marlins to three Final Fours in her first three years. Mercy’s defense of the Division 1 state championship was upended in a thrilling five-set regional last week vs. Birmingham Marian.
“I do think that when you have an athlete like Julia, she makes hitters look successful,” Mercy head coach Loretta Vogel said. “And she was great at taking a pass that maybe wasn’t successful and making it look easy. ...
“I look at football quarterbacks and the whole situation (across the field) of where they want to pass the ball. That’s what Julia does, and every year she’s becoming stronger. She’s really smart with the game and for us at Mercy, she’s taken the level and success for us to another level. It’s like having a great quarterback, a pitcher, a goalie — you name it — and that’s what I got at Mercy (when she came in) four years ago.”
Bishop won the award, given annually by the Free Press and the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches' Association, with 227 voting points. Jenna Reitsma of Lowell, who is heading to Marquette University, followed with 192. Former Mercy star Jess Mruzik took home the honor last season.
Gov. Grethen Whitmer's latest emergency orders in response to the COVID-19 outbreak suspended the volleyball season this week with the quarterfinals, semifinals and state finals yet to be completed.
The virus quietly kept Bishop from achieving another goal throughout the season.
The MHSAA, following state virus mitigation mandates, directed teams to play fewer regular-season games by limiting events to a four-team maximum. The result was Bishop coming up short of the state record for career assists (Miss Volleyball 2017 Erin O'Leary - 5,790).
Bishop finished this season at 5,575 career assists, clearly on track to have shattered the record if a normal number of regular-season matches were played in 2020. She played 95 sets this season, compared to 145 as a junior, 133 as a sophomore and 148 as a freshman. Bishop made 1,013 assists as a senior, compared to 1,605 last year. She added 65 serve aces on a successful serve rate of 94% in 2020.
Bishop signed to play volleyball at Michigan State, where Spartan head coach Cathy George is excited to have her.
"Julia Bishop will come to MSU with a long list of accolades but it is her demeanor and grittiness that sticks out to the coaching staff the most," George said in a statement. "She finds ways to win no matter what the challenge. This quality along with her location, leadership and team-first attitude will certainly make an impact the Spartans for years to come."
If the winter sports season is allowed to begin, Bishop will be a power forward on the Mercy basketball team. She’s less concerned about a full regular-season hoops schedule or possible tournament run.
“As a student-athlete, I’m 17, and sports are such a big part of my life,” Bishop said. “It’s just great to be able to go and relax and play the sport you love. If that means three games this year, because of all this crazy stuff happening, that means those three games; I just really hope that we can do all that we can to stay safe and get on the court; as many games as we can.”