My sister, Emily Perkins, is a ball-smackin’, ace-servin’ volleyball stud that steals kills with her defensive moves and puts up a towering block. Really, I’m not exaggerating. She does it all–dig, kill, block, serve. She can set, too, but she hasn’t done that in a while. But above all of those things that she does really well, she’s a team player. That’s how she would describe herself and that’s how her family would describe her.
Not one to bask in the limelight, she will kill me after she finds out I wrote this post. But really, it’s the last chance I’ll have to write about her volleyball career at Colorado College (CC). She’s one of those leaders that doesn’t like public recognition. The focus should be on the team and what the team will accomplish. Volleyball is a team sport. That’s what she’ll tell you.
Her story really is a great one. Emily proves that you can accomplish great things individually while still being a team player. What parent doesn’t want to teach their children that? (And what reporter doesn’t want to write about that?!)
One example: Emily’s traditional position is outside hitter. Her team needed her to play middle blocker and she transitioned to the new position without complaining. The payoff of her switch might not have been immediate, but eventually her team played well enough to make their school’s first Elite 8 appearance ever during her junior year. She was proud that she was part of her school’s team accomplished that. The next year, the Tigers won their conference tournament for the first time in school history.
Even though she had to switch positions for her team (among other things), she still managed to set the record for career kills and block assists at CC, as well as being a First Team All-American twice. Despite the prestigious individual awards, she values the team accomplishments more.
In honor of her wonderful career and for being a great sister, I designed the work below with pictures that I’ve taken of her. I just picked up the 20″ x 24″ canvas I had printed for her, and the print looks great. Hopefully, she’ll like it!
