Top Player Spotlight – Jessica Dunn 2022 Setter

This month I will be rolling out some articles that are a little different than we have been writing for the past couple of months. We will still be doing our regular highlight articles on multiple athletes for exposure, however I wanted to do some special articles on a few special athletes that we are getting to know quite well with Prep Dig TX. These young ladies volunteered to answer some questions so that we could get to know them a little bit more personally. The athletes were hand picked out of quite a few submissions that I received. We will start with Miss [player_tooltip player_id="140417" first="Jessica" last="Dunn"] out of Roanoke, TX. She was picked because of how she catapulted onto our radar this year and because of her stellar setting that has truly opened a lot of eyes in the volleyball world. Without further ado, here is our article on Miss [player_tooltip player_id="140417" first="Jessica" last="Dunn"].   [player_tooltip player_id="140417" first="Jessica" last="Dunn"] (2022) 6-1 Setter (HS: Carroll/Club: Excel/Verbal: Uncommitted) [caption id="attachment_145069" align="alignright" width="214"]<img class="wp-image-145069 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/06/CarrollVFlowerMound.09.24.20-232-214x300.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="300" /> Photo: William Dunn[/caption] Jessica went from unranked last year to us having her listed as the 45th best overall prospect and the 8th best setter in the state according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. We highlighted her last month during our Rankings update and here is a little refresher about what we wrote, “She plays at Carroll Senior HS and also club for Excel out of the North Texas Region. We are very happy to have her on such a prestigious list now and she has every tool to continue to move up the rankings. We were introduced to her a few months ago and we have been following her and her Excel teammates since then while they have qualified for USA Junior Nationals in the Open division. Many schools will know her name and see what we see, which is someone who can play at the division one level right now if she wanted to. She keeps a great posture throughout each ball she dishes out. Miss Dunn has every tool in her toolbox when it comes to delivery. She can set all tempos and locations consistently. We see tons of potential in this young lady and her ceiling is high to become a great setter for college. Grab your popcorn and get ready to watch her distribute the ball to all of her amazing teammates at Nationals.”   We were able to ask Jessica some personal questions so that our readers could get to know her a little better and here is a little from the conversation:   Prep Dig TX: What hobbies and interests other than volleyball do you have? Jessica: Although sometimes it seems that volleyball is a full-time job, when I’m not on the court, I really enjoy baking, crafting, and spending time with my family and friends. I also love traveling to new places. My top destination is Greece. Someday, I would love to see the Parthenon and all of the amazing ancient ruins across the country! Prep Dig TX: What is the most played song/artist on your personal playlist? Jessica: My top song and artist is 7 Summers by Morgan Wallen. I love the way it makes me think about Summer. I don’t know how it happened, but a huge part of my active playlist is dedicated to country music!   Prep Dig TX: Tell me why you started playing volleyball.   Jessica: When I was five years old, I started playing competitive softball with my older sister. Gradually, my sister decided to try volleyball. I am extremely competitive, and I couldn’t let her outplay me in anything! I went to a volleyball tryout for a 10U team, and they put me on a 12U team (I think because I was too competitive for the 10U players). Once I started playing volleyball, I loved it and I never looked back. As a high school freshman, I tried to play both volleyball and softball but I came to realize that I wanted to focus on volleyball and be the best I could be. Prep Dig TX: What keeps you motivated to get better at your craft at this point in your volleyball career? Jessica: The competitive drive that was instilled in me from when I was very young has never weakened – in fact, my desire just gets stronger and stronger. I push myself to learn something new and to improve every day – on and off the court. I always strive to be the best in the gym, and I won’t let anyone outwork or outplay me. In the past couple of years, I have had the privilege of setting for several high level D1 hitters on my high school team (Annabelle Smith – Stanford, [player_tooltip player_id="139541" first="Natalie" last="Glenn"] – Minnesota, Madelyn Grunza – Old Dominion). This upcoming Varsity season, my senior year, I expect to run a 5-1 again and I fully expect to be a team leader. I will not have the one or two “D1 terminator hitters” to rely on (I think that several of my hitters will be D1 players – but none going into the season – thanks COVID). We have several incredibly good hitters, a very solid defense, and I will be distributing the ball from all over the court! This year will definitely be my biggest challenge. I am 110% motivated help Southlake Carroll maintain its history as a top-level high school volleyball program in the state of Texas. Prep Dig TX: What do you love about the primary position you play?   Jessica: I love setting because I am in control of the court. I love that the position requires quick thinking, the ability to handle pressure, and a high volleyball IQ. There is nothing more rewarding than setting up a play and having my hitters execute perfectly. I see it as my job to make my hitters look great. I also love the fact that, as the team quarterback, I am able to have constant strategy conversations with my coaches and teammates.   Prep Dig TX: Name an influential coach that you have had and why they were influential to you.   Jessica: When I was 11, I played up a year in club volleyball for Coach Taani Langi at Texas Image. I played for him two more years after that. When he took me when I was 11 - my volleyball career was completely jumpstarted because I felt like he really believed in me. I started as a Libero/DS (I was tiny compared to most of the team) but Coach Taani saw me as a leader and a setter. I am now 6’1”. Coach Taani greatly impacted my volleyball career when he saw leadership and potential in me. The fundamentals that he taught me are a very large part of the player that I am today. Prep Dig TX: Name an influential player that you have played with and why they were influential to you.   Jessica: The player who impacted my life the most in volleyball was definitely my sister, Georgiana. She was the reason that I started playing volleyball in the first place. I watched Georgie win a National Championship in 18s at TAV – it was so much fun to watch Georgie and her teammates win! Georgie went to the University of Alabama to study Nursing and decided to not play college volleyball (she had several offers) but she is one of my biggest fans. She gets to say that she won the last competitive volleyball match that she ever played in – not many get to say that! I respect her decision but that is not how I think - I want to play college ball at as high a level as possible! That being said, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my sister. I would also put Annabelle Smith (current Freshman at Stanford), one of my high school teammates, in this category. Annabelle was a Senior and I was a Sophomore when I had the opportunity to be her setter. Despite the fact that I was two years younger than her and not as “seasoned” as a player, she took an interest in me as both a friend as her setter. She always encouraged and respected me. She never complained about an errant set or a (very rare) double. She was also an incredible student. Annabelle’s ability to be at the top of her class, play high school volleyball, and play club volleyball was incredibly impressive to me. Prep Dig TX: What is the one thing you want to work on the most to be better in your position?   Jessica: The primary aspect of my volleyball skillset I want to continue to improve is my defense. I have been focusing more and more on defense the past few years to ensure that I am college-ready when the time comes. I am also constantly working on reading the other side of the court and identifying weaknesses to exploit. I think about volleyball too much . . .   You can tell from Miss Dunn’s answers that she truly loves the game. She is what I and other coaches call a gym rat…someone who is truly dedicated to being in the gym and working at their craft. We love to see young players enjoy the entire process of becoming a top-level player. Those select few that think like Jessica are usually the ones who get rewarded with a college roster spot. I would tell her and anyone that thinks like her that she doesn’t think about volleyball too much. Not one bit! It is something you are passionate about and that is a great thing to have in this world. I loved her answers and it is great to get to know her better through this back and forth. She is one that we will definitely keep our eye on and all of the volleyball world should too.   Again, I decided to write a few articles on players such as her so that our readers can get a true understanding of what these athletes go through and how volleyball is a passion for them like it is for many of us. These players deserve all of the recognition that they can get. I will be rolling these out throughout the month along with our regular highlight articles that contain multiple athletes.   We will be publishing more articles daily to give the recognition to each athlete that has earned the right to be called a top 100 Texas Volleyball Player. Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes. If you have anyone you think we should watch out for or that you think have what it takes to be added to our database, please shoot me an email with some info at nov8vb@yahoo.com. Lastly, Thank you to everyone for all of the shout-outs on social media, tags, emails, direct messages, and most importantly…thank you for continuing to read out publication and support us as we strive to bring attention to the wonderful and amazing players of this great big state of ours! Volley on!