Arriving at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, last December was a special moment for Dorman High School coach Paula Kirkland and then-senior outside hitter Thayer Hall.
Hall, the most decorated athlete in the history of Dorman High School, was heading to Missouri for the Under Armour All-American matchup between the best incoming collegiate athletes in the country.
The freshman now plays on the Florida Gators’ squad, but she has always been a dominant player, said Kirkland, who often goes by coach Kirk.
“She’s one of the most competitive players I’ve ever coached,” Kirk said. “We all knew how good she was, we just had no idea how well she was going to do.”
Within two minutes of Hall hitting the court, the veteran coach of 38 years had her answer.
“She was going to do OK,” she thought.
She wasn’t wrong. Hall led the Gators to their first win of the season against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the NCAA defending title champions, as the lone Gator to notch more than nine kills (20).
Hall is the first freshman to notch 20 kills in her collegiate debut under coach Mary Wise.
After the matchup against Nebraska, Kirk said she texted Wise congratulating her on the win and commending Hall’s debut performance.
Wise texted her back saying if anyone didn’t know who Hall was before the match, they surely knew her name now.
Hall continues to impress, leading all freshmen in the SEC in points per set, averaging 3.84, and taking away two SEC Freshman of the Week accolades, the second coming after her performance against LSU and Alabama over the weekend.
The outside hitter will not be denied as she leads the No. 11 Gators into a challenge of their own: keeping the team’s undefeated win-streak in conference play alive.
Florida (13-3, 4-0 SEC) will take on Texas A&M tonight at 7 in the O’Connell Center, the first home game since the team defeated Mississippi State on Sept. 23.
The Aggies enter Friday’s contest also undefeated in conference play (10-5, 3-0 SEC), taking wins from Arkansas, Georgia and LSU.
“We’re playing some teams with some really fast offenses,” Wise said during media Tuesday, “and some of the best arms in our league.”
Flashing back to Hall’s last moment on the court as a Dorman Cavalier, Kirk reflected that the coaching staff always had to find new ways to challenge Hall.
Cheating the system seemed to be the only way to keep Hall on her toes. It got to the point where coaches would tell her to just play, Kirk said.
Looking at how Hall has matured has been a highlight of Kirk’s this season.
In high school, Kirk said Hall would occasionally get caught up in the officiating, especially if a referee made a wrong call against her.
“We would just sit back, cross our arms, smile and say, ‘Watch this,’” Kirk said chuckling at the memory. “She would take it out on that ball like the ball was the official.”
Hall’s strength has never been a secret either.
Kirk called her a “beast” in the weight room, describing how she would have the perfect form for weighted squats, often outperforming some of the guys in the gym.
When she wasn’t in practice, she was in the gym – physically training her body for the next level, which she knew not a lot of other athletes had the same dedication to do.
“She owned it,” Kirk said. “She was ready.”
Follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari or contact her at mfaiello@alligator.org.
Correction 10/7 5:11 p.m.: Paula Kirkland's name was corrected from Paula Kirkman.
Outside hitter Thayer Hall is the first freshman under Gators coach Mary Wise to record 20 kills in her collegiate debut.
