Eaglecrest setter Jordyn Poulter is one of the nation's best at her position. Only a junior, she already has committed to Illinois.
File photo by Ray Chen
She is only beginning her junior season of high school, but the laundry list of achievements already compiled by
Jordyn Poulter of
Eaglecrest (Centennial, Colo.) seems like that of a lifelong volleyball star.
She was an All-Colorado player as a sophomore. She has already committed to Illinois — it's a solid verbal because she can't make it official yet. And she was a member of the U.S. team that earned a silver medal in the FIVB Girls' Youth World Championships during the summer.
The ladder of accomplishment is a rarity. It was the U.S.'s first ever medal-winning team in the bi-annual tournament in eight attempts. The U.S. earned the runner-up medal after losing the championship game to China. The 6-foot-1 Poulter was anointed the top setter of the tournament.
Just another day in the life of a girl who, age-wise, wasn't eligible to receive her driver's license until late in the summer.
"I would say as a high school coach, the thing that stands out to me is that she's engaged in every point, every play all the time," 12th-year Eaglecrest coach Tanya Bond said. "She just has that never-quit, 100-percent effort every play, and I think that's what's made her become the player that she is."
Oftentimes when a marquee volleyball player who stands above 6-foot is featured, it's an outside hitter such as former Chaparral (Parker) standout Nicole Dalton (now at Texas), or a middle blocker like current
Doherty (Colorado Springs) prodigy
Haleigh Washington.
But although Poulter has skills above the net, the
MaxPreps 2013 preseason All-American is primarily a setter. That is her calling card for college.
Eaglecrest is going to run a 6-2 set this season, Poulter said, so she'll have the opportunity to spend sometime as a right side hitter. Not that she'll feel out of her element.
"I think my training that I've had since I was 12 has made me a good all-around player, where I can play good defense and be able to put up a nice block," Poulter said. "So, I think there's more than just setting and I think my height helps with that when I'm in the front row."
While a setter with such height is relatively rare in the high school ranks, Poulter said the average college setter ranges from 5-10 to 6-1, so she'll be at the tall end of the prototype for her position.
Eaglecrest went 21-5 last season and appears to be among the fleet of contenders this season in the Class 5A ranks. Poulter, who also plays for Front Range Volleyball Club, already has her U.S. experience and her college commitment in the bag, so she can concentrate solely on the season.
She said her college choice wasn't a difficult decision.
"I looked at a few other schools, and it came down to UCLA and Illinois," Poulter said. "I chose Illinois because I liked the feel of the campus more and just where the coaching staff was at with their style of coaching. The culture Kevin Hambly is trying to build there is something I want to be a part of."
It also helps that Poulter has family scattered across the Midwest. She was born in Naperville, Ill. and relatives from both parents' sides of the family are rooted nearby.
"It'll be cool having people at games when I'm in college," she said.
For now, though, Bond has the pleasure of keeping Poulter on her Raptors squad for two more years. And she's going to enjoy it.
"She's always just gotten it," Bond said. "She's a mature girl on and off the court and she brings that maturity to the court. She's a leader and she makes girls around her better. Her fundamentals are above anyone I've ever seen at her age, as is her ability to make adjustments with her fundamentals and her habits very quickly."
While club volleyball and U.S. volleyball offers a wider platform, Poulter said nothing matches certain aspects of high school play. She's overwhelmingly eager for the Raptors season.
"The atmosphere is so much different than club, because you have your peers and friends that come watch," she said. "It'll be fun because I've known the girls I'm playing with since I was a freshman. It will be interesting to see how we bond and jell this year."
