When you watch Hayley Hillman, the Teurlings star looks like she was built in a lab for volleyball.
"She really developed some strength. Now she's got a lot more power on the ball," Teurlings Head Coach Terry Hebert said. "You see her lateral movement along the net. She's got the build of a, that stereotypical, every volleyball coach's dream. That's what you want."
Standing at 6'2, Hillman's force and quickness makes her the total package as a middle blocker. But what she delivers for the Rebels was almost cancelled in 8th grade, when she took a break from the sport.
"Previously, I wanted to focus on rodeo," Hillman explained. "I'm a barrel racer, so I wanted to take that year and to see what I could do with that year. It was my eighth grade year, my last year of junior high. and I wanted to try to go to Nationals."
Rodeo was Hillman's first love. The gift was passed down from her mom at a young age. And the passion, is still present to this day.
"She was a barrel racer," Hillman said about her mom. "I started when I was 3, taking English riding lessons, which is a different discipline than rodeo. My mom told me stories about barrel racing. I was like, I want to do that. I got my first horse at 9 and it just blossomed from there."
Hillman has qualified for the state rodeo finals 3 straight years. And on the court, she's 3 wins away from leading the Rebs to their 9th title in 10 seasons. Her skills are sold separately, which also includes, the knack for modeling.
"I went to an expo this summer in Dallas, Texas," Hillman said. "I walked the runway. Talk to a lot of (agencies). There was some interest. It's so much fun. I love being behind the camera and just moving."
Hillman signed to Springhill college today on a volleyball scholarship. And while that will reroute her rodeo dreams, all 3 abilities are still on schedule.
"I'm closer to the big modeling cities in Mobile than I am in Lafayette," Hillman explained. "Definitely going to try to continue modeling and play college volleyball and I can always go back to rodeo."
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