In a split second the volleyball changes directions, flying over the net. Each player tries to keep up. The other team makes a great play, and the ball is about to hit the ground. Just when things look bad, she turns the tide of the game. She hustles across the floor, gets down to dig the ball and creates a kill opportunity for her team.

Senior Erica Hardy plays both left back and middle back for the Lady Tigers. She loves making digs and has had a lot of time to work on them since she began playing six years ago.

“I wanted to be in sports,” Hardy said. “I choose volleyball because it was the first sport of the year, and ever since then, I’ve been hooked.”

Hardy believes that she has come a long way since joining in seventh grade and her skills have increased dramatically.

“I’ve grown a lot mentally and physically, really overall,” Hardy said. “In seventh grade, I could pass, but I have gotten better and it goes to the area that I want it to go, and I get more balls up now, and I am more confident, I guess you could say.”

This year she has high expectations for herself and the Lady Tigers. She has always tried to be a good team player.

“We still have a hard time communicating with each other and we still make the little itty bitty errors that we shouldn’t make,” Hardy said. “Overall some of our attitudes and mindsets have to change.”

Practices full of drills and exercises have helped her consistently perform at her highest level.

“We run a lot, do ab workouts, lift weights, a lot of drills and work on specialities,” Hardy said. “All the drills that we do, they help us to finish through things, and if we’re tired, it helps us push through and keep on going.”

This year she will have to work hard to balance playing volleyball with the team and making good grades

“Last period is a DC class, and it’s going to be tough trying to do all my DC work,” Hardy said, “especially since I will miss most of my last period because of games.”

Though Hardy is unsure about her college athletic career, she is thankful for what volleyball has done for her.

“It’s kind of sad because I’ve been playing for several years now, but I am still happy with what I have become and how volleyball has changed my attitude toward things,” Hardy said. “It has made me a stronger person.”