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KHQA STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY PETERS HEATING AND AIR, SUBWAY, AND CELL TECH

ALEX DIETRICH

Quincy High Volleyball

GPA: 4.405

Class Rank: 10th out of 526 Seniors

College: Undecided (Truman State, Millikin, Augustana are her finalists)

If you were to compare the sophomore version of Alex Dietrich, to the senior version, you'd be looking at the same person, but two completely different athletes.

"Elevating my game was all about my mental focus on the court. I think becoming a senior and being made a captain put me in that position of leadership, so I knew that I had to step it up for my team,"

You can't define Dietrich's Blue Devil spikes career without including the word 'transition'. She was presented with the opportunity to become the leader, and the voice of Barb Crist's team. Alex took that opportunity and ran with it.

"If you would have looked at her 2 years ago and said this would happen, you would have thought there was no way. But she has definitely changed her mentality, her gameface, and just everything about volleyball made her the true person that she is on the court. She was someone who took charge and wanted the underclassmen to understand what its like to be a Quincy Blue Devil volleyball player and how you have to be determined on the court to get what you want,"

It was most definitely a work in progress, though; you don't just flip a switch overnight. Her goal of raising the QHS profile began in 2010, when she was just a sophomore on a team fresh off a berth in the state semifinals.

"We had always talked since my sophomore year about establishing the middle. Coming in my sophomore year and filling in the position of Taylor Holtmeyer and Maddie Barnes, I always knew that if we did not establish that middle position, our team would not be able to go as far as we could,"

And with her efforts, she's helped further establish QHS as a legitimate force on the state volleyball level. She's still deciding between Augustana, Millikin, and Truman State, but any team she chooses stands to benefit from what she found in herself at Quincy.

"Being an athlete has really taught me how to step up and be that leader, and I think that's really what the volleyball program is all about: being student-athletes, being people that other people know about and really want to look up to,"

"I really believe it was her confidence. As her confidence grew, it definitely showed on the court, and the more confident she was, she was able to put balls down left and right. She came in to her three rotations and was very vocal and led by example and it made the whole team feel good every time she was on the floor,"

For Alex Dietrich, making that transition to team leader wasn't an option. It was simply all part of what goes into wearing blue and white.

"Being a Blue Devil for me is all about being an example that others can follow. Being the best student I can be in the classroom and outside of the classroom, and on the court just being the best athlete I can be and being someone who others want to be