Success Is in the House for Julia
Julia Loveday
• School: Tates Creek High
• Grade: 12
• Sport: Volleyball
• Academics: Julia has a 4.433 weighted GPA and is a National Honor Society member.
• Parents: Lisa & Phil Hager & Jason Loveday.
No wonder volleyball player Julia Loveday is a success. Consider the house in which she was raised.
Her mother, Lisa Hager, is the volleyball coach at Southern Middle School and won two cheerleading national championships as a student at Henry Clay High.
Her stepfather, Phil, owns a fencing company that just built the paddock at the horse farm where American Pharoah will stand at stud.
Julia’s grandmother, Janie Cottrell, is a retired Fayette County educator who launched the International Baccalaureate program at Tates Creek. Julia is now enrolled in that program.
Her grandfather, Don Combs, trained Dust Commander, the 1970 Kentucky Derby winner.
That’s a lot of talent under one roof, and Julia is holding up her end.
A starter on the volleyball team since 10th grade, Julia helped Tates Creek advance to the Regional final the past three years and win the school’s first District championship two years ago. The team repeated that title this year.
“Winning District back-to-back was amazing,” Julia said. “We made school history. We beat Dunbar both times and every point was a fight.”
Julia, a 5-foot-10 middle blocker, was All-City second team as a junior and All-City first team this year.
She also has played on the championship Lexington United volleyball club for the past five years.
Division I colleges have recruited Julia, but her decision will be more influenced by academics because of her strength in the classroom.
Julia carries a 4.433 weighted GPA in the IB program, scored 26 on her ACT and is focusing on a career in business, following in the footsteps of her father, Jason Loveday.
She is a member of the National Honor Society, Beta Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Student Council.
She volunteers at a domestic abuse facility and accompanied a “date” to the Jesus prom at Southland Christian Church.
Julia participates in Fayette County Schools’ EBCE program that allows seniors to work at job sites.
Pursuing her interest in business, she has worked at a bakery (she’s a talented baker) and an interior design studio. She also works after school at a boutique shop.
Despite that busy schedule, Julia makes time for her schoolwork.
“She is hard-working and competitive,” her mother said. “She strives to be excellent, is disciplined and is an excellent time manager. She will resist a social opportunity to do the work to get an A in a class.”