I started playing in my 8th grade year. I had a growth spurt and texted my Mom the day of tryouts and asked if I could try out after school. She agreed, and I made the team. I started out as just a tall player at the net, but that is when my love for the sport was born, and the rest is history.

Coaches and teammates can always count on me to bring energy. I celebrate just as hard for my teammates when they make amazing plays. When we are down, they look to me to be the guiding force to bring us back. We need to reset and get back in it.

I thrive best in an open communication system. I love to ask questions to better understand the mental game, as well as the physical. If a coach sees me doing something wrong, tell me! I want to be the best on the court, and that starts with open communication.

I would love to continue my volleyball career in college. I want to go to school for nursing and feel volleyball ties well into that. I'm the one who attends to each injured player. I help take their mind off what's going on, I help remove their gear, heck, I even help carry them out to their car when needed. I follow up with them through text and phone calls to ensure they know they are not alone and we are thinking about them.

I pride myself on my work ethic. I will be the first one to practice and the last one to leave practice. I've been working with a strength and conditioning coach since October, and oftentimes, I go to strength with him for an hour and then off to practice for 2 hours. I want to learn how to do things right. If I'm struggling with something or feel slow in practice, I won't leave until I have corrected the error or feel better about what happened. Perfect example, I was given a chance to play in the back row. They wanted to use my power hit for the back row attack, which I had never done before. Being a middle, I tend to want to run a fast attack, obviously, that can't happen in the back row, and I was struggling to make the right connection. Once practice was over, I stayed late, and my Mom threw me balls until I had the timing perfect. It's now a weapon in my arsenal!

Both of my parents were athletes in high school. My Dad played football and wrestled. My Mom played soccer and even had scholarship offers to play in college. I lean into their experiences to help guide me in mine.

My stats are great, but what you don't see is my passion, my calm in the storm for my team, the energy I bring to everything, my dedication, and work ethic. Sure, you can see me improve, but there is still so much to learn and develop, and I'm ready to learn!