Passionate, aggressive and a go-getter is how junior defensive specialist Terra Varney describes herself.
Varney, who is in her third season playing for the Idaho volleyball team, said she fufills a leadership role by being energentic on the court to raide the confidence of her teammates.
“Creating a lot of energy and just going after every ball that I can and showing that every ball matters,” Varney said. “Just being real loud on the court and celebrating for my hitters … I just need to maintain the same level of energy throughout every game, don’t give up any balls and not let my team down.”
The Murrieta, California, native said she had high hopes going into the season and looks forward to finishing the season on a high note.
“There’s been times where things aren’t clicking but you can tell this is a really special team,” Varney said. “We just go back into what we have done in the past and build off from that … working to keep blending together and just clicking together as a team because when we’re on, we’re unstoppable.”
Varney’s career at Idaho has been up and down, with her share of injuries being one of the downs. Varney said the injuries have been a challenge this season.
“I’ve always had some aches and pains everywhere that have limited me,” Varney said. “I came in with a torn hamstring freshman year and I played through that season with that injury. Last year, I had another injury but just every year I’ve just gotten mentally stronger knowing that I can get through anything.”
Time management has been crucial for Varney when she described how her life has changed since playing volleyball at the collegiate level.
“That’s one of the main things that you learn playing volleyball and just hard work in and out of the classroom,” Varney said.
Outside of volleyball, Varney said she’s majoring in elementary education because she loves working with kids. Her inspiration came from her teachers she has had over the years.
“Growing up throughout my school, I just always had a personal relationship with all my teachers and a lot of them have inspired me to pursue that career,” Varney said.
As the youngest of four sisters, Varney said she has learned a lot from them as each of them played volleyball and fought through adversity.
“(My sisters) used to set me up when I was little and hit the ball as hard as they could at me,” Varney said. “I definitely learned to just go after everything and just play through pain. (One of my) sisters was the same way with injuries and she had an aggressive mentality that she wanted to win and I got my competitive mentality from her.”
Varney said growing up and watching her three older sisters progress from softball into volleyball has allowed her to be a passionate player.
“I’ve always grown up playing sports,” Varney said. “Softball wasn’t really my sport … You always find something you’re gonna be passionate about and for me it was volleyball.”
Varney has started in 12 out of the 16 matches so far this season and has 160 digs, including a season-high 15 digs on three different occasions.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected]