By Ken Hansard

The Erie High volleyball team finished their season at 17- 22 and with a first-
round loss at sub-state to Conway Springs. Senior Makenzie LaRue, a setter and
blocker for the Red Devils, was understandably disappointed to see her final high
school season end prematurely, but she can reflect on her career now with a sense of
pride that is well-earned.

LaRue discovered her love for volleyball at a young age by watching her older
sister play. “As the youngest child, I was dragged to whatever sport my siblings were
playing. I might not have appreciated waking up at 3 a.m. to watch my sister play Club
Volleyball, but when I look back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I wouldn’t be who I am today
without her and that experience.”

And who she is today is a student athlete who has built a strong resume for
colleges to look at. Even though she was forced to sit out most of this past season with
a sprained foot, and in spite of the fact that she didn’t move to setter until her
sophomore year, LaRue still amassed 655 assists over the course of her career.

Makenzie says that she used to struggle with confidence – that is, until her
mother offered some suggestions, “My mom bought me a book on being a confident
athlete and gave me a journal to write down my thoughts before and after each game. It
really helped me because I could get out a lot of my negative energy before the next
game.”

Although LaRue would have loved to have made a deeper run in the post-
season, she can look back with a sense of accomplishment, and the idea that she
succeeded in areas that probably count more than wins and losses, “I would have loved
a winning record, but it didn’t go that way. 17-22 isn’t a perfect record, but I’m proud of
what my team accomplished this year. It was great being with my friends every day
while playing a sport I love. I saw myself as a leader of the team, and as a senior and
returning varsity athlete, I felt I stepped up and helped my team in every way that I
could.”

When she is not competing for Erie in volleyball, Makenzie has many other
interests to keep her busy throughout the school year. She lettered in track and field
each of her first three years, and she qualified for the KSHSAA State Track Meet as a
sophomore in high jump, and then again as a junior for high jump, triple jump, and the
100m hurdles, the latter of which she medaled in. She is the Student Council President
for the Erie senior class. She is in KAY Club. She is the vice president of Erie’s chapter
of the prestigious National Honors Society. She is a member of the Erie Federated
Youth Group, and she dances at Studio B Dance Center and competes with the Star Aquila Club Volleyball team out of Pittsburg, Kansas.  LaRue is a star in the classroom,
also, with an impressive 4.0 GPA.

Following high school, Makenzie has plans to attend a local Junior College to
play volleyball. She wants to study Journalism or English with a career goal of becoming
a mass media reporter or a writer.