Even against the most complete volleyball teams in the 2A Olympic League, Bainbridge outside hitter Holley McFadden carries an imposing court presence some coaches can only dream of having on their side of the net.

“I came into high school at like 6 feet, 2 inches,” McFadden said. “I remember just regularly gaining two inches at a time as I grew up, and when I hit high school, it really slowed down.”

Her current stature at 6 feet, 3 inches alone has made her a prominent figure on her high school roster, but the Bainbridge senior knows all too well, “Height certainly doesn’t make you great by itself in volleyball.”

McFadden still had to work to become a team leader in Bainbridge with dynamic power on both the attacking and defensive sides of the net. As it so happened, she had a prime example of the work it would take to get there in her mother Stacey, a former collegiate volleyball athlete at Oregon State University.

Starting in sixth grade, McFadden began to follow in her mother’s footsteps, taking her first in-play reps in the BI Parks and Recreation District program.

“I can’t say what it was, but I was hooked immediately. It was just the sport that I loved,” McFadden said.

She would go on to play at Woodward Middle School and took the floor at Bainbridge High as a freshman in 2021, filling in the offseason with Northwest Pacific Juniors club play that has taken her across the country.

She’ll continue to make those trips in the next chapter of her family’s collegiate volleyball story. McFadden announced her verbal commitment to NCAA D-1 Loyola Marymount University in March. The Lions of the West Coast Conference have made the NCAA tournament as recently as 2022 and have regularly found themselves in the top half of conference standings.

“It’s a newer coaching staff, but I really enjoyed my visit, and I really like the academic program they have down there for me,” she said. “That along with the WCC being a great volleyball conference has me really excited for the future.”

Before she gets too far, there’s the matter of her senior season. Thus far, her skills have helped take the Spartans to the top of the Olympic League standings in early October with key wins against North Kitsap and Sequim. An upcoming rematch against the Vikings and an away contest vs. Seattle Prep could be the defining moments that show how primed Bainbridge might be for a state berth.