Glory Days

Mother McAuley's 1977 Championship Team Paved Way for Future Success

Look what they're doing now: Mighty Macs have won state-best 13 volleyball titles.

Whenever Donna Smith attends a Mother McAuley volleyball match, she never knows who she may bump into from the past. That always puts a smile on her face. “We still have players and parents come back to watch the new teams every year even though they graduated,” said Smith, who coached Mother McAuley’s first state-champion volleyball team in 1977 and is still involved with the program. “Once you’re part of the program, you’re part of it for life," Smith said. "We have a saying that ‘Tradition Never Graduates.’ It’s always great to see people come back from many years ago.” Smith, who was pregnant during the Mighty Macs’ title run, left the program for a couple of years after the championship season. She returned and has been the team’s “…

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Glory Days

Former Coach Donna Smith Had Good Feeling About Mother McAuley's First Volleyball State Championship Team

Standout player Cathy Spencer Moran proud to be part of tradition-rich program's first title in 1977, proud to relive the Glory Days of the Mighty Macs.

When Mother McAuley joined the Illinois High School Association in 1977, volleyball player Cathy Spencer Moran wasn’t quite sure what to expect. That is, until a meeting with Donna Smith, who was the McAuley head coach that season. “She told us we could win state and we believed her,” Moran said. “We wanted to win big-time in our first season.” The Mighty Macs did exactly that in dominating fashion. Mother McAuley capped a perfect 32-0 season by beating Queen of Peace 20-9, 20-3 for the first of what would become many state volleyball championships for the program. “It was a good group of people,” Moran said. “Everyone got along and we just had a blast together. A lot of us hung out together even when we weren’t on the court. Donna (Smith…

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Mother McAuley Flashback: Reflections of an All-Time Great

Therese Boyle-Niego, a former volleyball standout with the Mighty Macs, has used lessons garnered from her playing days throughout her life.

Therese Boyle-Niego, a former Mother McAuley volleyball standout, has her hands full with her own children when it comes to their athletic endeavors. "They'll come in and say, 'I scored 20 points, I did this and that,' " Boyle-Niego says. "And I'll say, 'Really? Are you playing an individual sport? Isn't this a team sport you're playing?' It's funny. It's the only way they're going to learn." Boyle-Niego uses these moments to teach her children lessons – lessons she learned while playing volleyball at Mother McAuley. She now runs Elite Volleyball Program, Inc., and raises her six children in Chicago. She performs both of these tasks with the values she developed while playing in the Mighty Macs' program, which traces its dynasty back to …

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