STARKVILLE — It’s fitting the Wilson black and white volleyball shared center stage Friday.
Nestled in front of an iron Yellow Jacket welded onto a base that is a cutout of the state of Mississippi, the volleyball had an ideal vantage point to celebrate Vicky Vo’s hard work.
While the pictures snapped, Vo, a senior at Starkville High School, signed a piece of paper with Belhaven University letterhead. The signature was part of a gathering to celebrate Vo’s decision to play volleyball at the NAIA school in Jackson. She said she intends to sign the official paperwork in the summer.
“I hope I will be able to be that go-to person for Belhaven volleyball,” Vo said. “Signing day was one of my dreams. I always wanted to have a signing day, and I was determined to have a signing day. I was determined to play collegiate volleyball, or collegiate something because growing up I played soccer. Today to be signing for volleyball is just amazing.”
Vo, a 5-foot-7 setter, played an integral role this season in helping the Lady Yellow Jackets (22-11) have one of their most successful seasons in recent memory. Starkville beat Clinton and Northwest Rankin to reach the Class III North State title match. DeSoto Central beat Starkville 3-0 and went on to defeat Hancock for the Class III championship.
The victory against Clinton was Starkville’s first in the playoffs in coach Lauren Love’s six seasons. Starkville missed the playoffs in 2013.
Love, a former defensive specialist (now called libero) at Tennessee, said setters run the offense for a team, so they have to be able to communicate with everyone on the floor to make sure they are in the right spots. She said Vo’s ability to be a team player made things that much easier.
Vo’s statistics showed that was the case, too. In 93 sets, she led the team with 495 assists (5.3 per game), which was her most in a season in her high school career. She also had 72 digs and a serving percentage of 85.7 percent. Both marks were the best of her career.
“She is a team player,” Love said. “She worked really hard every play, but didn’t necessarily get the recognition or the accolades, but she continued to work hard on the court during practice and during competition. I think being a team player is a really important attribute that she has.”
Vo’s background at a number of positions helped her understand how to relate to her teammates. Love said Vo played libero and middle hitter before she found a home at setter. The position required Vo to touch the ball nearly every point and to be able to be quick enough to track down passes and then deliver them to the right spot for hitters.
Love, who coached Vo for five years at Starkville High, said Vo’s knowledge and feel for the game improved, which made things easier for everyone.
“She is the kind of kid that if I hit a ball and she didn’t get it, she wanted another one,” Love said. “It is important to have a good work ethic. I am proud of her for today, too, to be able to continue to play volleyball.”
Vo said it was “destiny” she wound up at setter. She admits the transition was a challenge at first, but she said she enjoys the responsibility of being the player who pumps her teammates up, especially in a sport where momentum swings from point to point.
Vo has that enthusiasm in a lot of the things she does, including her volunteer work. In 2012, Vo received a volunteer award for her work with Silly Sports Camp, a camp in June at the Starkville Sportsplex, where campers learn a variety of skills necessary for traditional sports, including soccer, track and field, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and more.
The role fit Vo, who was a team leader at Starkville High and with the Mississippi Juniors travel ball team, which was coached by former Mississippi State coach Tina Seals. She hopes to make as smooth a transition to Belhaven, a Christian liberal arts school. She said she loved the campus and how coach Justin Dee runs his program and relates to his players.
“What really sold me is when I went to talk to coach Dee, he said, ‘I am not going to tell you you’re going to start or you’re not going to play. All starting positions are open. It is just how hard you’re going to work,’ ” Vo said. “That really got me. I love his coaching style and how he pushes his girls and puts his girls first.”
Love said Dee’s style should fit well with Vo because she is such a hard worker. She said Vo made a recruiting video, contacted schools, and took visits in an attempt to find a place to play. Love said Vo was “driven” to find the right school to continue her volleyball career.
“You can tell Vicki is charismatic and fun and wants to do a good job and contribute to the team,” Love said. “She didn’t take things too seriously that she would get overstressed. She is a player that wouldn’t laugh it off, but she would have good attitude and who would say, ‘OK, let’s get this next one, that one is done.’ ”
That’s the same approach Vo took with the volleyball that sat on the table for her signing. Loaned to her by Love after Dee told Vo he wanted to see her set when she visited the school, Vo used it to polish her skills because she admitted she hadn’t touched a volleyball since the end of club season. The volleyball must have received plenty of work because Vo said she wasn’t going to bronze it to commemorate her signing.
“I am going to give it back to coach Love so another girl can probably can have that same ball and get their dream like I did,” Vo said.
For a player who hates not being able to be able to dig or to pass a ball coming at her, Vo did her drills until she got them right. When Vo got it right, she said the next step was fixing it so she could get it right consistently.
After all of the work she did on and off the court to realize her goal, Vo was asked if she got it right picking Belhaven.
“I think I did,” Vo said.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.