Southeast Missourian volleyball player of the year: Leopold's Caitlin Petty

Fans and spectators who have attended a Leopold volleyball game in the past four years may have noticed one rowdy bunch that sticks out amongst the rest of the crowd.

They're dedicated to the Wildcats, but their eyes are always fixed on one player in particular -- Caitlin Petty.

Since she began playing volleyball around the age of 7, the family of the Leopold senior has become the biggest support system she could have asked for.

"There's probably about 10 or 12 of them at every game. There are a bunch of us and they're always there. I think they have their own section in the stands, and they're known as the 'Petty Bus,'" Petty said with a laugh. "Both my sets of grandparents come, my mom and dad, and then my mom's sister and her boys come. It's just a whole bunch of them, and that's probably not even all of them. We just go wherever there's a game."

For some high school athletes, having their family stick out in the crowd may be a little embarrassing. But for Petty, it's the complete opposite.

"There's no pressure from them at all. I feed off of it," Petty said. "They're really supportive and they're always there. So that's encouraging because that way you always have someone in the background cheering for you and pushing you to be better."

2014 All-Missourian Volleyball - Caitlin Petty - Leopold High School (Laura Simon)

That support system and an overall drive to become one of the best all-around players Leopold has ever seen, has paid off for Petty, who started all four years at the varsity level for the Wildcats and is the Southeast Missourian player of the year for a second consecutive season.

Leopold coach Sandy Davis said she immediately noticed Petty's great athletic abilities when she began coaching her eight years ago.

"I started coaching her in fifth grade and you just knew she was an athletic girl," Davis said. "Quick learner, easy to coach. She would do anything I asked without complaint, and it was just easy for her to pick up anything. She just had a love for the game. She wanted to get better and wanted to learn. From day one in fifth grade, once we started practicing, you could just tell that she was going to be a standout."

In her career with the Wildcats, Petty has proven to be a standout player who can play any position on the court.

For the past two seasons, Petty has set in Leopold's fast-tempo offense for two of the six rotations, and has also filled in as the Wildcats' middle hitter and blocker during her three front-row rotations.

She's taken on just about every role Davis has thrown at her. But Davis said she didn't always like the idea of doing that.

"In seventh grade I started her with setting," Davis said. "I wanted her to be a setter-hitter. She wanted to be just a hitter, but we needed her to be that kind of do-it-all player because she had that kind of ability. As the years progressed she really started to enjoy setting. When I first started coaching her I knew she could do it. It just took a little extra time in the gym for her to really be confident with setting."

The makeup of Leopold's roster and Davis' assignments coaxed Petty into the idea of becoming the all-around player she is today.

"At Leopold we only have a limited amount of girls, so you pretty much have to do it all," Petty said. "It wasn't until high school that I was like OK with it. My freshman year was when I started hitting and blocking for middle too, and that was really nerve-wracking at first. I just kept playing until I finally got over it. Once I got over the fear of that it wasn't too bad, and I started to enjoy it. It took some time with coach Davis to adjust to it, but I'm glad I did."

Petty finished the season with 322 kills and 310 assists to go along with 171 digs and 80 blocks.

"She's just so humble. The knowledge and love of the game that she has, and not just her athleticism makes her such a special player and a person," Davis said. "She shows other players respect, her players respect and coaches respect. I've coached her for eight years and she's never questioned anything I did or said. Like I said, it's not just the athleticism, it's everything. Just the fact that she's so willing to make her game better and make others better, makes her the complete player and the complete teammate. She's the kind of player that everybody wants to be."

In the same season she started to become an effective attacker and blocker, Petty said she already had her sights set on playing volleyball in college.

To continue playing, she knew she would have to adapt her game and continue to develop her skills at every position on the court.

"That freshman year I started to realize that most people look for players that are versatile," Petty said. "My freshman year I started to learn that, 'OK. This is a good thing, so I need to get better at everything,' That was really it."

Her talents caught the attention of many colleges, but Petty, who stands at 5-foot-9, said she knew setting would give her the best chance play at the collegiate level.

"As I got older I knew that I wouldn't go to college to be a hitter because I'm not really big," Petty said. "So I started to focus on setting more, and now I'm going to college for just that."

Central Methodist University was one of the colleges that pursued her the most. After communicating with the coaching staff for over a year, Petty made the decision in December to sign and play for the Eagles.

"They actually saw me at the state games, either last year or the year before that, and just saw me play. And ever since then we have been emailing back and forth," Petty said. "I sent tons of emails out to colleges and they just kind of caught my eye. They wanted me to set for them, and I knew that setting was my best option for playing in college. It was kind of a perfect fit for both of us, and I couldn't be more excited to continue my career there."

Petty said she's prepared to set for the next four years even if it means she won't have as many opportunities to get kills and blocks in the front of the net.

"I like it. I can't see myself doing anything else," said Petty when asked if she's ready to become a full-time setter for the Eagles. "I mean I'm going to miss hitting a bunch too, but we may run 6-2 [rotations] and 5-1's, so I will still be hitting some. Setting is what I was focused on and I knew that in college I would have to set instead of hit, so I was kind of prepared for that."

Petty said she gets a little nervous thinking about going off to CMU in the fall, but she added that she already knows a few people on the team.

However, When Petty puts on the uniform for the Eagles next season, it will mark the first time she's played without four of her closest friends and teammates since middle school.

"I know a couple girls up there. One played for Jackson [Julia Weber] a couple years ago. She'll be a senior and I played ball with her during club, so I kind of know her. That's kind of good going up there, knowing I'm not alone" Petty said. "As for the rest of my teammates, we'll stay in touch as much as we can. We're a close class in general. Like, we hang out every day, every weekend. People are like, 'Aren't you sick of each other?,' But we're not. And so we'll all stay in contact. There's no way I'm losing touch with any of them."

Next season, Petty won't be able to look up to the stands and see her greatest support system at every game.

CMU is about four hours away from Leopold, just outside of Columbia, in Fayette, Missouri, making it hard for her family to attend every game.

Petty said that will take some time to adjust to, but she's determined to not let it affect the way she plays.

Instead, she'll be mindful that her biggest fans are cheering for her no matter what, even if they aren't there to see her set up game-winning kills or put one down herself. She will look ahead to games when they can cheer her on like they have for so many years before.

"It won't change the way I play. They will still be really supportive. They'll always be my No. 1 fans and always want to know how everything went," Petty said. "I'll probably get phone calls after every game. And I know that they'll try to make it to as many as possible. So I'm looking forward to those games, the games that they will be able to come to and watch."