Abigail Duncan anticipated the ball coming her way, leaped into the air and spiked the ball with such great velocity that it could not be returned. The star hitter for the White Station varsity volleyball team had just recorded her thousandth kill in only her third season.

Duncan was initially reluctant to play volleyball. In the second grade her mother, a volleyball coach at St. Mary’s, refused to allow her to play soccer unless she attended a volleyball skills camp. Thus began the career of one of the most talented athletes in White Station’s history. When middle school arrived, Duncan quit soccer and began to focus solely on volleyball.

This season, as one of the few upperclassmen on the team, Duncan has stepped up and become a vocal leader. She can often be heard giving encouragement to her teammates.

“[My teammates] are usually pretty pumped up on their own, and if they’re not then I’m just like ‘We gotta get it together,’ ” Duncan said.

Duncan and Arati Joshi (12) have formed a tremendous connection together on the court. Joshi believes that Duncan’s reliability is a major aspect of her game that maximizes the team’s success.

“If we’re down, I know that I can set it to Abigail, and she’ll do something to help the team,” Joshi said.

Duncan is currently being recruited by numerous Division 1 schools, including Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, Virginia Commonwealth, Memphis and Arkansas State.

In choosing a college, she is looking for where she can play six rotations outside, get a four-year scholarship and fight for her spot on the court.

“I don’t want it to be completely handed to me,” Duncan said.

Where she ends up remains to be seen. For now, Duncan is continuing to show why her mom was right to make her play volleyball.