Athlete Spotlight: Victoria Youngblood

With only one senior on the Silver Bluff High School volleyball team, coach Kimberly Kirk said it's a rebuilding year for the Lady Bulldogs.

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Victoria Youngblood, the senior on the squad, brings a "quiet leadership" to the team, Kirk said.

"She gets along with all the players," the coach said. "She's the only senior; the rest are sophomores and freshmen, so she definitely has the experience."

As of Wednesday, the Lady Bulldogs had a 2-7 record and a 1-2 region record. There are about eight games left in the season, which ends Thursday, Oct. 12, at Woodland High School.

Youngblood is 78 percent in her serving and 85 percent in her spiking, with 10 kills this season.

"She plays the whole gamut," Kirk said. "She plays all the way through, and her serve is awesome. We utilize her in every aspect of the game."

Youngblood has played volleyball all four years at Silver Bluff and spent two years on the squad at New Ellenton Middle School.

"I love sports," Youngblood said. "I've played all my life."

Youngblood said that she's competitive and that volleyball is one of her outlets

"I like to spike," she said. "I'm a spiker, not a setter."

Although the team is below .500 for the season, Youngblood sees a few good years for the team in the future and said her teammates have a lot of potential.

"There are some pretty good players, if they stay focused," she said. "I want to help them so much, but I have to leave."

She said one of her goals this year is to be a role model and help them like the seniors helped her when she was a freshman.

Kirk said Youngblood's influence is more moral support, and she is "very calming" when the game gets intense.

Youngblood exhibits a lot of resilience and flexibility, Kirk said.

" She's seen a lot of different things," she said.

Youngblood also plays softball with church and recreation leagues.

When she's not on the court at school, she is busy with the academic team and the French Club.

After graduating, Youngblood would like to study biology at the University of South Carolina Aiken: "I want to do something with animals."

Reach Charmain Z. Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.