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Volleyball players selected for national training program turn attention to final high school season


By Matthew Dietz
NKyTribune spors reporter

As the United States women’s volleyball team won its first gold medal at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo this summer, two local high school players spent time training with the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program in California.

St. Henry senior Taylor Preston and Ryle senior Lucy Trump were among 37 volleyball players from across the nation selected for the 18-under training program. They are close friends who both played on the Ryle varsity team as eighth-graders before Preston made the decision to attend St. Henry.

Taylor Preston, left, and Lucy Trump were among 37 volleyball players from across the nation selected for the 18-under national training program.

“I think having Lucy there with me was such a plus because we’ve been playing together since eighth grade,” Preston said. “And now that we are both at different high schools we still are good friends off the court as well.”

Both Preston and Trump said that earning the chance to train with some of the nation’s top players and coaches was an amazing experience that will help them immensely as they continue in volleyball.

“I’m not one to compare myself to others,” Trump said, “but it was cool to be able to see all these other girls, their own talent, and it was helpful for me to hold myself to a high standard and hold myself accountable for things. It just pushed me to be a better player.”

Both seniors have made college commitments. Trump is heading to Notre Dame and Preston will attend Oklahoma.

They were both recruited as outside hitters and the development program gave them an opportunity to strengthen their all-around skills in that position, including defense and serving.

“I grew up playing middle (hitter) most of my life and I just transitioned to outside when I was about 15,” Preston said. “So I’ve been going back and forth between middle and outside, but they really helped me focus on my outside position.”

Preston said the national coaching staff worked with her on patience and timing as an outside hitter, as well as back row defense and back row attacks. For Trump, one of her biggest takeaways was watching some of the nation’s best coaches work with players and help them harness their skills.

Lucy Trump was the 9th Region’s leading hitter last season with 5.27 kills per set. (Photo by Bob Jackson)

“It was cool to be able to see these other coaches’ coaching techniques,” Trump said. “They all still narrowed down to the USA volleyball fundamentals, but it was cool to be able to see how each of them interacted with the players.”

The national coaches preached a faster style of play. That’s something that Preston is trying to implement with other members of her St. Henry team, especially setter Cora Taylor.

“I’ve been working with her on the faster tempo, so that I can keep that same thing when I go back to the next training that they have,” Preston said.

With the 2021 high school volleyball season beginning this week, St. Henry and Ryle are prominent contenders for the 9th Region championship and a trip to the state tournament. Ryle has never won a region championship, a fact that Trump is well aware of going into her senior season.

“Being able to finish my high school career with that would be insane,” Trump said. “It’s also the 30th anniversary for volleyball (at Ryle) and there’s 30 girls on freshman, JV and varsity altogether, so we’re doing this 30-for-30 anniversary for Ryle, and it’s just a big year for Ryle volleyball.”

Last year, Ryle made it or the region final and lost to Notre Dame, 3-1, which went on to win the state championship. St. Henry lost to Notre Dame in the opening round of the region, but Preston believes this year’s team has what it takes to return to the state tournament for the first time since she was a freshman.

“I’m very excited,” Preston said of the upcoming season. “When I was a freshman, we had a pretty young team and now that we’re all seniors I think this is our year. We’ve been ready for it and we are really working hard.”

The future looks bright for Preston and Trump after high school. They’ll be playing for major college volleyball programs and now they’re in the USA Volleyball training pipeline that’s designed to develop players for future Olympic teams.

The idea of being an Olympic hopeful is a motivating factor for both of the long-time friends.

“I’m just going to keep working hard and developing into a better player every time I walk into a gym,” Trump said. “It definitely has been a dream since I was very small and it still is one.”


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One Comment

  1. Jess Schmidt says:

    Great article! It has been so fun watching Taylor and Lucy play volleyball over the years.

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