By Rubin E. Grant
Hannah Parant is a lovable goofball.
It shows when Mountain Brook’s junior setter plays volleyball.
“I like to think I am the goofiest player on the team,” Parant said. “I don’t think you can play volleyball if you don’t love it and have fun playing it.
“I love it so much. It’s the mix of the team part of it and details of the game that I enjoy. You’re always getting better and always growing because no one is perfect.”
Mountain Brook volleyball coach Mattie Gardner doesn’t have any problems with Parant’s goofiness.
“I think the coaches and her teammates adore her,” Gardner said. “She has the goofiest personality and brings a lot of fun into the team.”
Parant combines her fun-loving style with a business-like approach on the court.
“She’s our setter, so she’s like our quarterback out there,” Gardner said. “She’s very intellectual on the court and thinks through things, evaluating where to go with the ball and getting her teammates in the right spot.
“She loves the sport and has a natural curiosity about it and other things. She loves talking about volleyball and she’s always watching games, whether on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram or wherever she can.
“I think she’s curious about how good she can be, where her ceiling is and how good she can push herself and her teammates to be.”
This season, the 6-foot-1 Parant has pushed herself and the Spartans into position to make a run at their fourth consecutive state championship.
She led Mountain Brook to the Class 6A, Area 10 tournament championship last week. She recorded 55 assists, eight aces, seven digs, six kills and two blocks as the Spartans swept both Woodlawn and Shades Valley 3-0 at Spartan Arena.
Mountain Brook (32-16) plays Fort Payne (33-21) at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the North Super Regional in Huntsville at the Von Braun Center. It continues the Spartans’ quest to make it back to Elite Eight state tournament next week at the Birmingham CrossPlex and Bill Harris Arena.
“It’s exciting to win area again,” Parant said. “I feel it’s the same atmosphere of winning last year, but it’s like a new team so it’s very different.
“We’ve grown a ton this season. Going into the state playoffs, we’re feeling confident because we’ve played some of our best volleyball lately, but we’re still growing. It’s exciting to see how far we can go and also how far we’ve come.”
Parant has 975 assists, 216 kills, 286 digs, 65 blocks and 61 aces this season. With her 55 assists in the area tournament, she surpassed 3,000 for her career.
“It’s real exciting to reach that milestone, and to do it during area makes it even better,” Parant said. “Each year I’ve gotten better, but I couldn’t have achieved it without my passers and hitters. It reflects on how well they have played, too.”
Sister Act
This is Parant’s third season on the varsity. She was voted to the 2021 All-OTM volleyball team as a sophomore.
“I was blessed to set as a freshman,” Parant said. “I’ve grown a ton since then and now I can help the new people on the team. Overall, every year is different but the same feeling. We train to be the best. It’s also really cool to see things on the court that I might not have seen when I was younger. I’m more a leader now.”
Parant also gets to play with her twin sister, Paige, a defensive specialist.
“We’re really close,” Hannah Parant said. “I’ve been playing with her since we’ve been growing up. We started when we were 8 years old, so it’s been awhile. We’ve always played together except for maybe being on a couple of different club teams.
“We know each other better on the court and what to expect from each other. She’s my best friend and one of our best hitters. It’s just special playing with her.”
Although she’s a junior, Hannah Parant already is thinking ahead to college.
“I do want to play in college,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to play at the highest level.”
Gardner believes she would be an asset to any team.
“I think she can play at the next level and have an impact,” Gardner said. “Any college would be lucky to have her.”
