Freshman volleyball star Megan Schulte came out of the second weekend of her freshman season feeling content with her team’s 2-1 record in the Lehigh Steel Tournament.
She didn’t realize until assistant coach Sarah Gomish brought it to her attention that she had totaled 49 kills with an attack percentage of .328 over the weekend.
Despite her accomplishments, Schulte said it came as a shock when she was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 7.
Schulte grew up playing soccer and basketball but decided to venture into volleyball in the seventh grade.
“I instantly fell in love with how fast the pace of volleyball is compared to the other sports I was playing,” Schulte said. “It’s such a team sport, and there’s always something new happening every 30 seconds—that’s ultimately what led me to pursue it in the long-run.”
Over the years, Schulte’s play continued to progress with one goal in mind: to play volleyball at the collegiate level.
Schulte said that while her mother played college volleyball, her parents never made it an expectation that she would do the same.
Once Schulte independently established this goal for herself, she said that her parents were there to encourage her every step of the way.
“It was never forced upon me to become a collegiate athlete,” Schulte said. “My parents just motivated me to try new things and to always give it my best. They’re still my biggest supporters today.”
Schulte, a Boise, Idaho native, said she was not familiar with Lehigh until they contacted her in the spring of her sophomore year of high school.
After doing research to discover more about the academics and volleyball program at Lehigh, she attended a camp at the university in the summer of her junior year, where coach Alexa Keckler had an opportunity to watch her play.
Soon after that summer camp, Schulte committed to Lehigh.
Schulte’s commitment to Lehigh worked out for both parties.
Keckler said she was thrilled to hear of Schulte’s Patriot League recognition and that it’s well-deserved.
“(Schulte’s) mentality this season has been ‘there’s no stepping back,’” Keckler said. “She is an incredibly determined and self-motivated player, which also makes her incredibly fun to coach.”
Keckler said that she hopes Schulte’s Patriot League recognition brings further motivation for the team to hold nothing back on the court.
Freshman Emily Stewart said that Schulte has a huge impact on the competitive drive and positivity of the team.
“(Schulte) is really great at refocusing the team and preventing us from simply going through the motions of a game,” Stewart said. “She reminds us of the goals we have for our season, which adds that element of purpose to our play.”
Fifth-year Sabrina Lancaster’s achievement of 1,000 career kills serves as inspiration for Schulte to record a program record by the time she graduates
Keckler said Schulte has a lot of great leadership qualities that she can’t wait to see progress.
“As she continues to develop her athleticism beyond front-row play, I think she’ll continue to be a top performer on our team and hopefully within the Patriot League,” Keckler said.
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