Danyell Lipps' volleyball career at Defiance College has been nothing short of killer. The former Twin Valley South standout capped her days as a Yellow Jacket by becoming the school's all-time leader in kills, amassing 1,320 over her four years on campus.
"I guess it was just kind of cool to make history. It was kind of neat to accomplish that," Lipps said. "We also got 20 wins this season, so it was cool to accomplish that along with (the kills record). It was kind of neat coming in as a freshman and sophomore, because we didn't have a great team, and I was able to become a captain as a sophomore and have been ever since.
"It's cool to see how our team has developed and matured and how we've been able to build up the program pretty well. It's just neat to see the program grow and develop and how we were able to kind of create a name and establish ourselves as a team to beat."
Lipps helped Defiance to a 22-11 overall record this season, the program's highest win total since 2003 and its second-straight winning season. Lipps also led the Jackets to a win in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament for the second time in as many years, after earning the fourth seed with a 4-4 league record.
Lipps was named All-HCAC for the third straight season after posting her fourth season with at least 280 kills, 305 digs, 22 aces and 25 total blocks. The senior hitter's 350 kills led DC this season, while her 305 digs and 29 aces ranked her second on the squad. Lipps hit .256 during HCAC action and ranked second in the conference with 3.61 kills per set. She also led the team in points, with 404.5
She was also named to the DC Invitational and Marietta Invitational All-Tournament Teams, and earned HCAC Player-of-the-Week honors on Sept. 21.
Lipps credits her time at South playing under coach Leslie Roberts for some of her success.
"From a technical standpoint, she taught me a lot about the game," Lipps said. "A lot of the drills and the intensity of our practices really prepared me for college. A lot of girls don't come in from great programs, but it wasn't a big transition to come into a college practice.
"... It was good to get experience playing all the way around the court in high school. Some girls in college are only used to playing certain positions, so it was kind of neat to see the game from every level."
Lipps will begin student teaching at Paulding High School in northwest Ohio in January. She'll graduate from DC in May in integrated mathematic education (grades 7-12).
Reader Comments Posted: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Article comment by:
Mary Lehmann
This was a very nice article on Danyel Lipps. I would like to see more articles on students that have played sports in the tri-county area and went on to college with that sport. I live in Ky, and it was special to me and my family to read about a relative going on with a good career as well. Thanks for doing this article. Mary Lehmann
"Ads published on this site are not for republication in print or web media without the expressed written consent of both the advertiser and The Brown Publishing Company."
