First-year Hannah Johnson is already making herself known in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, or ODAC, competition. She is fourth on the ODAC leader board with averages of 3.34 kills and 0.49 service aces per set.

“Hannah is the ultimate competitor,” said head volleyball coach Carrie Bert. “She is driven, steady, and expects to win.”

In EMU’s last two ODAC wins, Johnson walked away with a total of 30 kills, 27 digs, and three aces.

“As an undersized outside, she is a smart, powerful hitter who is also skilled enough to serve aces and play tremendous defense,” said Bert.

This is all in her first collegiate season.

“It definitely was different at first, but I feel like I’ve transitioned well and made some adjustments to my play that have been beneficial,” said Johnson. “Just the fact that college is a higher speed and it’s quicker on the block.”

Johnson knew what she would need to do to prepare for this season.

“I worked out over the summer like three days a week,” she explained. “I wanted to get in shape for college. During high school I wasn’t doing as much, and transitioning to college, I knew I would need to [work out] more often.”

Her illustrious high school career has given her a leg-up in college competition.

“Having won a high school state championship her senior year, she knows how to win,” said Bert. “As a first-year, she has not sought a leadership role, but her teammates recognize in her the ability to become a great leader for our team in years to come.”

So far this season, EMU has had some exciting ODAC wins. When Hollins University’s team got stuck in traffic en route to last Thursday’s match, the EMU crew played games on the court waiting for their opponents to arrive. The tactic worked so well they carried it over to be a part of their next pre-game routine.

“So the team being late, it didn’t affect us in a bad way, like sometimes it might have,” Johnson said. “We decided to use that to play silly games together and just have a fun time and just be relaxed before the game. It transitioned into the game and we just played volleyball confidently and relaxed.”

Johnson hopes to see this confidence continue and lead to more success in conference competition.

“We know we can compete in the ODAC,” she said, “so just having the confidence to do that.”

Besides being an athlete, Johnson is also a Math Education major looking to find balance.

“It’s definitely hard with the schedule for athletics and getting all the work done, but I try to stay on top of my work and try not to procrastinate as much, so that definitely helps,” Johnson said.

Johnson first started playing volleyball when she was in fifth grade after attending a free volleyball clinic recommended by her aunt.

“So I went and ever since, I’ve loved it,” Johnson said. “I enjoy it; it’s fun. And just the competitiveness of volleyball and the team aspect…and being challenged is worth it and I enjoy playing it.”

So, she keeps coming back to the game, and now stands at the beginning of what looks to be a promising and exciting college career.

“Hannah is making a name for herself in the ODAC stat board,” said Coach Bert, “and will no doubt be an impact player as a Royal during her career at EMU.”