The season has only just begun for the Grand Valley State volleyball team and freshmen Jaelianna Primus is already making waves on the court. Primus has tallied 93 kills and a total of 133 points so far in her first season as a Laker.

Before she was a Laker, Primus was a Hudsonville Eagle in high school and before she started her volleyball career, she played a different sport entirely. Primus originally put her athleticism to good use on the basketball court, but decided that volleyball was her real passion in middle school.

“I tried basketball first, but wasn’t a fan,” said Primus. “I had to put my height and athleticism in some way, and volleyball was next on the list. I fell in love with it the moment I started in seventh grade.”

With her hometown being so close by, it’s no wonder why Primus chose to attend GVSU, however proximity was not her only reason for becoming a Laker.

“When I was deciding between schools, I came to visit GVSU,” Primus said. “All of the girls on the team were super welcoming and sweet, which made the campus feel even more like home.”

There are quite a few changes that freshman experience in their first year at college including new course schedules, different living arrangements and new people to meet. For student athletes there are even more, including the transition that they have from competing at a high school level to a collegiate level. Primus believes that a large difference between the two is the level of play is elevated in college.

“I would say that the main difference between high school and college volleyball is the competitiveness,” Primus said. “In high school, there’s usually only a few outstanding players per team. But in college it’s all the star players from each of the high school teams from around the country, which means the opponents are a lot better and there’s more competition within the team for a spot on the court.”

Primus has appeared in all ten of the teams matches so far this season and has ranked in the top three players for assists, aces, kills and blocks in multiple matches. So far she has been in the top three for assists in one of the ten games. In two matches, she was in the top three for aces, and she has been in the top three for kills in five matches. In blocks she was in the top three for nine of the ten.

Primus plans to push herself even further and continue to improve throughout the season.

“I plan on continuing to better my game everyday, knowing that it doesn’t end at the end of practice,” Primus said. “I plan to outwork all of my opponents, and work to achieve all of my mini goals that I set throughout the season”.

Primus wants to improve all facets of her game and become better at every skill needed to succeed on the court.

“My personal goal for this season is to get better each day, and become the most versatile player that I can be to prepare myself for each game and for next year as well,” Primus said. 

Primus and the Lakers will continue their season on Tuesday September 24, in a GLIAC conference match against the Davenport Panthers.