By Paige Brown

Sophomore Heather Trueman has shined this volleyball season, being chosen for the All-Tournament Team and truly earning her spot on the team.

Last Saturday, Trueman was chosen to play at the tournament against Sacramento where she had 14 kills, the highest of the match, and proved that her spot as an outside hitter was well-earned.

“There are two new freshmen fighting for this same position. I just knew I needed to prove myself to get that playing time,” said Trueman. “I played as hard as I could.”

Linda Sagnelli, Head Coach of the volleyball team, thinks of Trueman as a “very hard working athlete” and knows that she deserved this moment.

“Her goal on the floor was to get that starting position,” said Coach Sagnelli. “She has a good hand on the ball and good ball control.”

When Trueman came to Central as a freshman, she had skill and knowledge of the sport. She has been playing since seventh grade, however “she needed strength,” according to Sagnelli.

“We put her through a strength program and she really embraced it. Now she has that strength.”

“Being aggressive hitting-wise is what I’ve always struggled with, so that last match I finally came and I got a lot of kills,” said Trueman.

Coach Sagnelli can see that Trueman obviously cares for her team and is working hard to improve herself and her playing skills.

“She did need to work on being aggressive when it came to playing the game and now she is.”

“At our last match against San Jose State, my setter and I really connected well,” she said, in hopes that she can keep watching herself improve.

Trueman plans to work hard and makes sure she puts all her effort on the court while playing. However, she has so much respect for the fact that this is a team sport and cares for her teammates.

“It’s about the team. If someone isn’t doing well, I try to pick them up, or if I’m not doing well, I take it upon myself to clear my head to get back to where I need to be,” she said.

She explained that her team recently had a rough practice, but at the next one, they all got together and had “an amazing practice” to get ready for their first home game of the season.

Along with growing as an athlete and becoming a more prominent member of the team, she is also a very hardworking student. Trueman is a secondary math education major and thinks that it is a very “fitting” career for herself.

“She is an exemplary student athlete,” said Sagnelli, adding that she is great in the classroom and very sportsmanlike.

“I am so glad that she is getting noticed for her hard work. Heather is very disciplined and committed to her training. She definitely earned her spot.”