By Juan Lugo and Gillian Crist
Sports Reporter and Editor-in-Chief
Q: When did you first start playing volleyball and what drew you to the sport?
A: I started playing volleyball when I was seven or eight. What drew me to it is that I played almost every sport. I played basketball, I played soccer, I did track, I went to drills, team and cheerleading. That was not my thing, but I knew, like, my mom played volleyball, and it was just something that I was more passionate about than others. I didn’t really care about basketball, but volleyball, even at like, eight years old, I was, like, crying when we would, like, win games. I have always been passionate about it.
Q: What has surprised you the most about being a student athlete at the college level?
A: I was honestly super nervous about taking college classes and then also managing volleyball, but it really has been, like, super manageable, like, much better than I thought, and I think high school prepares you for that because you have eight classes a day, and then we go to practice. Here, we have your online classes, and then you go to practice, but it’s still manageable because the coaches and professors understand. Whenever you’re playing here, we practice from one to five, so you have a big chunk of your day out.
Q: What has made the transition from high school to college so successful for you? Why are you seeing successes early?
A: I think I just have a really good support behind me, like I have all my teammates. I’ve been blessed with some really good roommates, too. Not only am I enjoying volleyball, but I don’t have to think about it. I was just thinking about going to school and moving into my apartment and things, but my friends and roommates supported me so much, and I didn’t really think about it; it kind of just happened. And my coaches, like Scott, believed in me, like, from the get-go, I know that. And so it’s nice having someone who believes in you always.
Q: What is your current role on this team, considering that you are on the court very often?
A: I do my best to be a positive leader in a way, even though I’m not a captain. I’m trying to lead with my energy. My mom has always told me, whenever you’re on the court, you need to bring this positive energy.
Q: What was your reaction to being named WCCJA Offensive Player of the Week?
A: I texted my coach and I said, “I’m kind of surprised,” because there are so many great players in this conference. I’m playing with girls who are from Serbia, Turkey, Hungary and Brazil. I’ve been super blessed. I mean, like, I didn’t think that they were watching me like that, so to know that it’s being recognized, it’s very rewarding.
Q: How do you hope to grow both as a player and a person during your time at AC?
A: I think consistency. I struggled with that in high school and club, and my numbers for the first month or so were very consistent in these last few games. My hitting percentage hasn’t been as great, and I want to work on my consistency and being as consistent as possible. So if I decide to play at the next level, that’s something really important that they look at. I want to hold myself accountable to that standard, but also I want to grow as a person, because even when my numbers aren’t well, I want to be a good teammate and support others wherever. Maybe I can’t lead in skill at that moment, but I can at least lead in encouragement and some energy for them to build off of.
Q: How would you describe the team culture?
A: One large family, because we only have freshmen and sophomores. You’re close in age. We all live close to each other. We hang out all the time. These are the people you’re with for the next five months of your life, and maybe for the next two years for some of the freshmen. We got super close off the rip, so I’ve already met some of my best friends that I think I’ll have here forever.
Q: Can you talk about your commitment journey?
A: I started sending emails probably like my 16-17 year. I had a couple of interests from locations I wasn’t interested in. I didn’t want to stay at home. I love my family, but I didn’t want to stay in Argyle or the Denton area, but I didn’t want to go too far either. I didn’t want to go in the middle of nowhere. My senior year of high school, when I was playing volleyball, I decided I wasn’t going to play in college. Actually, my plan was to go to Texas Tech, I was gonna join a sorority, and I was gonna do all that, but that didn’t feel like me at all. I was like, “I’m not a sorority person, I’m not like that.” So I reached out to Scott a while back. I was like, “Hey, are you still looking for outsides?”, and this was pretty late. This was like November. And he was like, “Yeah,” so we set up with the phone the next day, I went on my visit the next week, and I committed two days later. It was literally like that. So I went from going to rush a sorority to playing volleyball in a week and a half. I was like, “Whoa,” but I could not imagine if I didn’t make that decision, I think I would have regretted it so much, because my goal in high school, club, and since I was eight, was to play college volleyball and then just like to give it up like that; I knew it was wrong. I’m grateful that I did try, because I think I made the right decision.
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