Until six years go, volleyball wasn’t very important for McCallum sophomore Preslie Boswell.

She wasn’t on a team, and she hadn’t even played a game. To her, volleyball was just an opportunity to hit her step-sister in the face with a ball when they got bored and went outside. Then, while playing around at a family reunion, her aunt, a volleyball coach in Dallas, stopped to watch her.

“She saw potential in me,” Boswell said. “She told my parents I should start playing.”

Now volleyball is a huge aspect of Boswell’s life. As one of the two freshmen on the varsity team last year, Preslie is an impressive player.

When she started playing at freshman camp two summers ago, she was noticed by varsity players and coaches alike.

“I saw her at freshman camp, and I thought ‘Wow, she’s really good,’” varsity teammate junior Liana Smoot said. “So I talked to Coach [Brodbeck] and I [said]- ‘She’s really good, do you see her playing?’”

Brodbeck did see Boswell playing on varsity. After a couple of weeks, with no news about her status, Boswell was nervous but ready to find out. Then, she got a text.

“She was really nervous before the moment, ” Boswell’s stepsister, junior Cameryn Borman said. “But once she found out she was super relieved. She wasn’t really sure what to do next, she was like ‘I guess I’ll be going to those practices now.’”

Although Boswell made varsity as a freshman, and feels honored to be on the team.

She believes that the most important things she has brought to the team is her love of the game and a desire to improve.

That assessment is perhaps a bit modest. She is among the team leaders this season in virtually every significant statistic. Heading into tonight’s home district match versus Crockett, she leads the team in kills (297), kill attempts (714), solo blocks (38) and aces (35), and she is second on the team behind senior libero Lindsey Wiley in digs (211) and serves received (418). She only has four assists but that’s probably because she’s setting up for her next kill attempt.

Borman said, however, that the stats are merely results of Boswell’s strong work ethic.

“I’m not saying that she work[s] harder than a lot of people, but she’s put a lot of time and effort into playing,” Borman said. “She really enjoys the sport too, which help[s] her be more energetic.”

Boswell does love volleyball. She loves the competition, playing the game, and most importantly, the friendships she makes.

“Volleyball is a team sport, so being able to work cohesively will lead the team to success,” Boswell said. “Friendship not only makes the team play better together, but it also makes the sport more enjoyable.”

Though it was daunting to Preslie to be on the varsity team as a freshman, her teammates were very welcoming.

“She’s really funny,” Smoot said. “Whenever she passes the ball, she slaps her legs and is like ‘Come on, let’s go!”

Based on the team’s success last year (a second-place finish in district) and this year (the team is 3-0 in matches against arch-rivals Anderson and LBJ), the varsity volleyball team obviously has great teamwork and sense of friendship. The varsity team made it to playoffs last year, a feat most thought would be impossible after the seniors from two years ago left.

“I think the training and coaching, along with our teamwork left a big impact on our team’s success [last] year,” Boswell said. “The previous varsity members were very welcoming to new members of the team as well, which also tied into it.”

The varsity members were more than welcoming, which, Boswell says, tied into their successes last year, along with their training, coaching, and teamwork.

“[Our season] went really well [considering that] we lost a lot of seniors, and we had to rebuild the team.” Smoot said.

For Boswell, being on the varsity team was an interesting experience, but not at all a bad one. All in all, she had a lot of fun on the team and not only improved physically and technically, but improved in the mental aspect of the game.

“Being on the varsity team freshman year really gave me a new outlook on the game,” Boswell said. “Playing at a higher level not long made me a better player [and] a better person. I still feel very honored to be given the opportunity to play on a varsity team.”