Volleyball player Haley Herndon doesn’t believe in holding back.
Whether she’s on the court or in the classroom, Herndon holds herself to a high standard.
All throughout high school, the native Texan played volleyball at her school and through the Houston Skyline, one of the top ranked volleyball clubs in the country. Herndon received the Academic All-State honors twice and her school team finished in third place at the state tournament both her junior and senior years.
Through her seasons at the Houston Skyline Volleyball Club, Herndon was part of a team that won six National Qualifiers in the Open division; the team was ranked first in the country multiple times according to various national polls.
Herndon celebrated reaching 1,000 volleyball “kills” — a successful point that is unreturned by the opposing team.
Meanwhile, Herndon took seven AP classes, including world history, human geography, U.S. history and art. She earned an AP Scholar Award for her scores on the exams.
Her senior year, Herndon was selected to compete in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ annual state art competition. Hundreds of students across the state participated in the competition, and Herndon emerged with top finishes in two divisions. She placed fifth for the pencil drawing competition and sixth for overall portfolio.
She graduated from Concordia Lutheran High School with a 4.3 GPA.
“My goal was always to have a GPA above a four,” Herndon says. “I always played volleyball, but I also pushed really hard on academics. I told myself, ‘Why not stress academics? Why not put in the hard work?’”