Lakewood’s star volleyball player, Anna Heinz’s hard work has paid off, as she signed her National Letter of Intent on Thusday in the Lakewood High School Library to play volleyball for the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Heinz mentioned that her trips to UNCP helped her make her decision.
“Coach Davidson has taken us to the UNCP Black and Gold High School Volleyball Invitational Tournament in August for the last two years,” she said. “The first time I walked into their gym, I thought I would love to play college ball on this court.”
Knowing she had several other opportunities to play, the ultimate deciding factor to chose UNCP was the friendliness of the folks within the program.
“During our tournaments there, I was impressed with how friendly and outgoing the players were and how they were so disciplined about making sure everything ran smoothly,” continued the all-conference player. “Coach McGill invited me to come and meet with her a couple weeks ago. She and the assistant athletic director, Megan Sanger, spent three hours with me, giving me a tour of the campus, introducing me to the training staff and even set up an interview with the Athletic Director, Mr. Christy. I got to see how wonderful their facilities are and felt very good about Coach McGill’s long term commitment to the program. That night I stayed and watched them play Coker College, it was a great game and UNCP won. I liked the way the players responded to Coach McGill, and how they are so close as teammates.”
Heinz knows that she has a lot of work to do before she starts college ball in August. “I am going to spend a lot of time working on strength and conditioning and improving my first step quickness,” she said. “College volleyball is really fast and I need to be prepared for that.”
Heinz later mentioned that today was one that she would always remember, and how appreciative she is of the opportunity and her support system.
“It is very exciting to know that I will continue to get to play volleyball,” said Heinz. “I am very thankful for that and grateful for all of the work that Coach Davidson put in with me. It is a great day for my whole family. They have supported me every step of the way, from dad coaching, mom making sure we had everything we needed for club ball weekends and my extended family coming to cheer me on. I am very blessed.”