I started playing volleyball in 7th grade after growing up as a multi-sport athlete. Before volleyball, I played club soccer for five years, along with softball, basketball, and one season of recreational volleyball. Playing multiple sports helped shape me into a very competitive athlete and taught me how to adapt, communicate, and compete in different environments.

What drew me to volleyball was the intensity, the teamwork, and the constant challenge to improve. I am extremely competitive and thrive in environments where I am pushed, challenged, and expected to earn every opportunity on the court. I appreciate coaches who hold athletes accountable, demand effort and discipline, and create an environment where growth is expected every day.

At the same time, the coaching style I respond to best is one that balances toughness with empathy. I respect coaches who are demanding during competition but understand the importance of teaching, communication, and timing off the court. One of the best examples of this happened during a tournament weekend when I was struggling during a pool play match. My coach made the decision to pull me during the second set and move another hitter into my middle position. I completely understood and respected the decision because the priority was the team winning.

After the match, instead of criticizing me emotionally after a win or loss, she asked if we could debrief privately. We went to a quiet place, pulled up film, and walked through the corrections she had been trying to communicate during the game that I had not fully processed in the moment. That conversation and film session helped me reset mentally, understand the adjustments, and apply them immediately in the next match. I ended up earning an impact player award that weekend. That experience reinforced how much I value accountability, honest feedback, film review, and coaches who invest in helping players improve rather than simply reacting emotionally to mistakes.

I also care deeply about team culture. Some of the most meaningful relationships in my life have come through volleyball. I have stayed close with many former teammates and players from previous teams because those relationships became much bigger than the sport itself. Those teammates became my people and my support system. I want to be part of a program where teammates compete hard, hold each other accountable, support each other through adversity, and genuinely care about one another beyond volleyball.

My teammates and coaches would probably describe me as competitive, mentally tough, coachable, driven, and dependable. I care about details, I want to keep improving, and I take pride in doing the small things that help a team succeed. I am the type of player who wants feedback because I genuinely want to get better.

Academically, I take a lot of pride in challenging myself. I currently have a 4.45 GPA and was inducted into National Honor Society this year. I have consistently taken a rigorous course load and plan to continue pushing myself academically during my senior year. I want to major in business because I am interested in leadership, strategy, and making an impact both within athletics and beyond it professionally.

I also have a unique and incredibly supportive family dynamic that has shaped who I am. I am my parents’ only child, my mom’s youngest child, and my dad’s oldest child. My parents have successfully co-parented me since I was 18 months old, and they made it a priority not only to support me individually, but to show up together for every stage of my journey. From my first soccer team at four years old to traveling to Nationals, they have been united in supporting me mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially.

My dad played college basketball at a small NAIA school in Kansas, and my mom has always reminded me that many of the strongest and most successful women she knows in business were former competitive athletes. They taught me resilience, discipline, mental toughness, and how to work hard for opportunities rather than expect them.

At the college level, I want to make a meaningful impact not only within a volleyball program but also within the university community as a whole. I am looking for a program that values development, accountability, culture, academics, and relationships, a place where I can compete at a high level, continue growing as both an athlete and person, and contribute to something bigger than myself.