We’re proud to be a part of an ongoing partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is sponsoring our Player of the Week award. We’ll be releasing a featured vballrecruiter.com Player of the Week, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, on Tuesdays. Below is this week’s Player of the Week: Layla Hoying.

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With a dad who was a quarterback at Ohio State and spent six seasons in the NFL, two aunts who played Division 1 volleyball, an older brother, Jacob, who plays football at the University of Cincinnati and an older sister, Ava, currently playing volleyball at Northern Kentucky University, sports have always been a huge part of Layla Hoying’s life growing up. She spent five years doing competitive dance. She ran track. Played AAU basketball. And has participated in soccer and cheer.

Still, she always knew volleyball would be No. 1.

“I was exposed (to volleyball) from such a young age,” she said. “I was going to clinics. I did a lot of other sports but I always knew volleyball would be my sport.”

Hoying – a 4-star recruit from the Class of 2026 – started club during her 11s season at Mintonette and has been there since. It’s where her sister Ava played club too, so it was a natural fit. Currently, Hoying is in the middle of her sophomore season at Bishop Watterson, where Mintonette coach Stephanie Grieshop is the head coach.

With Hoying a freshman last season and teaming with her older sister, the Eagles advanced to the Ohio Division 1 state semifinals before falling to eventual champion Ursuline Academy.

“I was so excited because I always knew we would have the opportunity to play one year together,” Hoying said. “It really gave me extra incentive to make varsity because I really wanted to play with her. Everyone was telling me I had nothing to worry about but I wasn’t just expecting to make varsity. I was telling myself I had to work harder than everyone else to have that chance and it made it extra special.”

Hoying ended her rookie season third in both kills and digs. The Eagles graduated seven seniors coming into her sophomore season, so she’s taken on an increased role. The team began this week 8-3 with Hoying leading the roster in kills and aces.

“I think we were expecting this season to be more of a rebuilding year but the season has been pretty good so far,” she said. “Our first game was against Ursuline, who won state last year and we lost to in the semifinals, and we lost in five sets, 20-18. We have a lot of Mintonette players and we all have that same foundation with our training. Steph is our coach and she coaches with Max (Miller) so she is training us well. We have a lot of juniors so we’ll be a similar team next year. We are growing as a team and getting better.”

When it comes to club, Hoying and company have enjoyed plenty of success the past two seasons. Her Mintonette squad finished the 2021-2022 season capturing the USAV 14 Open national championship.

The ending to this past club campaign was just as memorable, even though it didn’t quite end the same way. The first chapter featured Mintonette defeating Skyline to take home the AAU 15 Open gold medal. A couple of weeks later the two clubs met again in the USAV 15 Open championship match. That one went Skyline’s way.

“That was insane,” Hoying said. “That was not something I expected. At AAUs, we definitely expected to play them in the finals. When we beat them we were so excited about winning AAUs. We knew USAV was coming up and we needed to stay focused. We had it in the back of our mind that we could play them again. Once it was Day 4 and we both made it to the final, we were really excited playing them again. I do think we were the two top teams in the nation. We knew they had extra fire and reason to beat us, so that made us a little nervous. It’s hard to beat a really good team but it’s even harder to beat a really good team twice in the span of a few weeks. We worked our hardest and I do think we were capable of beating them, it just didn’t happen.”

As our featured Player of the Week sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, we recently spoke with Hoying about volleyball and more.

Who is a role model or someone you look up to?

Hoying: I would say I definitely look up to my sister. I always go to her for advice, whether it’s about volleyball or school or anything else. She’s really wise. She’s only 18 but she is wise and always has good advice for me. I play volleyball because of her. When people compliment me about volleyball they are really complimenting her because she’s the reason I’m playing. With her, I always have someone to talk to who understands the sport in depth, plus I look up to her. I still want to beat her. That’s something that I use as an incentive is to beat Ava. That sense of competition definitely helps me to work harder. She’s definitely my biggest role model.

What is your favorite food?

Hoying: I’m definitely not a picky person. I think I’ll eat anything but olives. I definitely like fruit. I will eat any fruit. I also love pasta and I like getting my protein too though I don’t enjoy eating meat as much. Definitely fruit is my favorite food. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner but I’m really not picky.

Other than volleyball, what skill would you most like to learn and why?

Hoying: I feel like I would want to learn … there are so many options. I feel like I would want to learn how to play the piano super well. I took lessons when I was younger then I stopped. It would be so cool to whip out my keyboard and play all these notes but I’m not good anymore.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be and why?

Hoying: I really think I would go to Paris for a day. I know that sounds cliché because everyone wants to go to see the Eiffel Tower. But it’s so cool. I’ve seen so many pictures and where I’m at right now I won’t be going to Paris soon so going there would be super cool. To go to Paris and be able to walk around the city and see the Eiffel Tower would be really cool.

Aside from necessities, what is one thing you could not go a day without?

Hoying: I don’t think I could go a day without an acai bowl. During the summer I would make one or get one every day. It’s actually one thing about my sister leaving is not having her around to get acai bowls with. We were always getting them for breakfast or lunch. I can go a day without one and obviously I have, but if I’m quite honest I don’t want to go a day without an acai bowl.

What is one thing that instantly makes your day better or makes you smile?

Hoying: Something that makes my day better is my mom. Being with her it makes me realize everything she does for my family and I. She makes me smile. Sometimes I just turn to her and tell her how much I love her and thank her for everything she does. She does everything for us. She’s always doing something like the dishes or cleaning or running to get something for us.

If you could have any superpower what would it be and why?

Hoying: I think it would be to fly. Sometimes I have dreams that I can fly. It’s the best thing. It’s the best thing I have ever done and then I wake up really sad because I realize it was a dream and that I can’t fly. Having a superpower to fly sounds so fun.

Outside of volleyball what are you most passionate about and why?

Hoying: I would say I’m definitely passionate about my faith. I’ve always gone to Catholic school and have always been faith based. I know my talent from volleyball comes from God. Everything in life comes from God and I’m always thanking God. I have definitely been raised with my faith and I’m definitely passionate about my faith.

What is one thing that may surprise people about you?

Hoying: I can think of things but nothing really good. I think one thing that might surprise people is that I wear glasses. If I go anywhere with glasses people comment that they didn’t know I wear glasses. It’s probably because I’m usually wearing contacts, especially if I’m playing volleyball.

What is your strangest irrational fear?

Hoying: I’m really scared of the ocean, but I don’t think that’s an irrational fear. I’m really scared when it’s nighttime and I’m alone in my house. Our house has lots of glass doors and glass windows. Even when I’m not home alone and just being up late and I hear a little sound I get scared. But I’m also scared of the ocean because even if I’m just up to my knees I think a shark will come bite me. I still swim, but I’m always scared of sharks.

What’s your favorite number and why?

Hoying: My favorite is No. 4. It just happens to be my club number. Before I started playing club my school number was 24. My sister’s club number was 40. When my dad played at Ohio State it was 14 and 7 in the NFL. My brother was also 4, so everyone in my family has had a 4 in their number. It just happened to turn up being 4 for club because at Mintonette you can’t choose your number. I really like even numbers too and 4 is a really pretty number, so No. 4 is perfect. There is nothing wrong with it.