Howard County Times 2023 volleyball All-County: Centennial senior Mailinh Godschall dominates, named Player of the Year

Mailinh Godschall grew up in a volleyball family. Both of her parents played club volleyball while her mom played collegiately at Johns Hopkins.

Godschall’s parents began teaching her the sport from a young age. She frequently watched games and also played recreationally. That helped set the foundation for her high-level volleyball IQ, which has only elevated in the years since.

Centennial coach Michael Bossom began coaching Godschall in club as an 11-year-old, one of two girls her age playing up on the 12s team. Even then, Bossom identified Godschall’s great knowledge and athleticism.

Before arriving at Centennial, she played libero for her club team. However, Bossom wanted her to play outside with the Eagles. She embraced the challenge of a new role, as Bossom encouraged her to lean on that strong court sense. He consistently preached, “You don’t have to be the hardest hitter. You just have to be the smarter hitter.”

“Freshman year when I went in there, I was nervous because I had been playing libero for club,” Godschall said. “I didn’t really want to switch positions because I really liked libero. I didn’t think I was going to be that good on the outside because I hadn’t been working on that as much. But I wanted to take the challenge and I wanted to do what was best for the team. I accepted it, I embraced the position and I think I improved a lot on it. I think it was a great decision because it helped me see the game from a different perspective and see it from a hitters view which helped me understand the game even more.”

Consistently practicing her technique, Godschall developed into a force on the outside. However, her senior year, Godschall was a force all over the court. She was the team leader in digs (309), kills (206) and aces (65), guiding the Eagles to the program’s 15th state title and first since 2008. Playing her best in the season’s most important moments, Godschall is the 2023 Howard County Times volleyball Player of the Year.

“I think one of her strengths is not only is she a good volleyball but she’s a great person,” Bossom said. “Her personality meshes with those around her while she’s still being very competitive and trying to win. She does it her way, quiet. She’s not in your face, but everyone who’s around knows if they’re going to play with her or against her they better play because she’s going to quietly give you everything that she has and try to win. When you do that from a young age to every drill and every opportunity to practice, you’re going to make a lot of advancement and get really good really fast.”

Possessing great court awareness and positional versatility, Godschall’s on-court leadership was invaluable for the Eagles. She’s typically the first player to pick someone up after a mistake, instilling confidence in her teammates. Godschall is also often the one cheering loudest for other’s successes, both pillars of her leadership approach.

“I definitely think that’s a really important thing at any level because in any sport it’s easy to get in a rut or get really negative when you make mistakes or aren’t playing as well as you want to,” Godschall said. “I experienced some of that myself when I was younger and there were a lot of people around me who were really supportive and did the same to me. When I grew up, I learned to do that to people because I knew what they were going through if they were hard on themselves or weren’t being as positive. I just think it’s really important to lift each other up because we’re teammates and it always feels better when there’s someone else out there picking you up and helping you out.”

Each was evident in the Eagles three-set state semifinal win over Queen Anne’s. After rolling her ankle in the second set, Godschall remained engaged from the sideline and after returning to the game, excitedly embraced sophomore Hannah Shiau who filled in admirably during her absence.

“It’s definitely a luxury,” Bossom said of Godschall’s leadership. “The biggest way you can see that is if there’s any video of her on the bench in a Game 3 and watching the young players play, the genuine joy that’s on her face when they do something good. The players pick up on that on that genuine joy when they do good things and her genuineness is received very well.”

However, don’t mistake that quiet leadership for a lack of confidence. Godschall empowered her teammates to reach their potential but was always there to deliver when her team needed it most. She delivered 13 kills and 28 assists in her final high school match, helping guide the Eagles to a Class 2A state title and now moves into the next step of her volleyball journey at Duke University.

All-County first team

Isard Bernades, Glenelg, sophomore, outside hitter: Bernades finished with a team-high 268 kills as a force on the outside for the county champion Gladiators, also adding 131 digs.

Madi James, Chapelgate Christian, junior, outside hitter: James had a team-high 245 kills, a key factor in the Yellow Jackets’ IAAM C Conference championship. She added 150 digs and 94 aces.

Lauren Roselle, Mt. Hebron, senior, outside hitter: After losing multiple starters, Roselle stepped up with a team-leading 201 kills, also adding 155 digs and 30 aces.

Addison Van Oosten, Long Reach, junior, outside hitter: An early commit to Millersville University, Van Oosten had a team-high 177 kills, 91 digs, 33 aces and 26 blocks.

Kaley MacLellan, Centennial, senior, middle blocker: MacClellan was a force in the middle with 128 kills, making a key impact defensively as well with 30 blocks as the Eagles won the state championship.

Gabby Prather, Reservoir, junior, middle hitter: Prather emerged as a vital part of Reservoir’s attack with 87 kills, while thwarting opponent’s attack attempts with 57 blocks.

Sofija Semendic, River Hill, junior, middle hitter: Semendic contributed in a variety of areas for the Hawks with 104 kills, 39 blocks, 24 aces and 23 digs.

Kaleigh Williams, Howard, junior, middle hitter/right side: WIlliams displayed her versatility playing multiple positions, finishing with 114 kills, 43 blocks and 15 aces.

Mackenzie Calhoun, River Hill, senior, setter: A Lafayette University committ, Calhoun did it all with 526 assists, 153 digs, 118 kills and 72 aces for the Hawks.

Lindsay Kelley, Glenelg, senior, setter: Moving on to play at Bridgewater College, Kelley finished with a county-leading 709 assists, adding 173 digs, 63 kills and 48 aces.

Haley Ko, Reservoir, senior, setter: A three-year varsity player, Ko set up the offense with 398 assists, including her 1,000th career assist, also strong at the service line with a team-leading 72 aces.

Morgan Harris, Howard, senior, libero: The anchor of Howard’s backline and East Carolina University commit, Harris had 264 digs this year and 675 total in her career, the second highest for the program since 1999.

Caroline Zheng, Mt. Hebron, senior, libero: The leader on the Vikings’ serve and receive, Zheng had a team-best 264 digs, 44 assists and 40 aces.

All-County second team

McKenna Brown, Howard, sophomore, outside hitter

Mari Esch, Reservoir, junior, right side

Tatum Hall, Atholton, junior, outside hitter

Katy Harbaugh, Marriotts Ridge, junior, middle/outside hitter

Avery Hubbard, Glenelg, sophomore, right side

Olivia McDonough, Glenelg, junior, libero

Abby McMahon, River Hill, senior, right side

Ilyssa Newman, Glenelg, junior, middle blocker

Hayley Norton, Long Reach, senior, setter

Mariska Ordonez, Howard, freshman, right side/outside hitter

Emerson Rose, Mt. Hebron, senior, setter

Grace Salveron, Chapelgate Christian, junior, setter

Simar Sidhu, Centennial, junior, libero

Jada Virgin, Chapelgate Christian, sophomore, outside hitter

Final Season Standings

Howard County: Glenelg (14-2, 10-1, Howard County Champion, 3A state semifinalist); 2. River Hill (14-3, 10-1, 3A state quarterfinalist); 3. Howard (13-3, 9-2, 3A South Region II finalist); 4. Centennial (15-4, 9-2, 2A state champion); 5. Mt. Hebron (9-7, 6-5); 6. Reservoir (12-7, 6-5, 4A state semifinalist); 7. Long Reach (9-6, 6-5); 8. Atholton (6-10, 4-7); 9. Marriotts Ridge (5-11, 3-8); 10. Oakland Mills (6-10, 2-9); 11. Wilde Lake (3-11, 1-10); 12. Hammond (0-14, 0-11)
IAAM B Conference Glenelg Country (13-3, 10-2, IAAM B Conference Runner-Up)
IAAM C Conference Chapelgate Christian (19-0, 10-0, IAAM C Conference Champion).