Edwards signs on to play volleyball at Freed-Hardeman

Thursday was an exciting day in Martin. It was an exciting day for Westview High School, the volleyball program, the school. And it was especially exciting for one of its players.

Elizabeth Edwards, a senior with the Westview Volleyball team, signed her official letter of intent to play volleyball for Freed-Hardeman University (FHU) in Henderson. She is the first player from the volleyball team to sign on to play college ball.

Edwards said she is thankful for the opportunity to continue to play volleyball in college and is honored to be the first from the program to sign a letter of intent. But, she said it’s a testament to how hard the players, administrators and coaches have worked to build the program up to where it is today.

“West Tennessee, as a whole, I feel like it’s just been growing as a sport,” Edwards said.

Amanda Cunningham, head volleyball coach at FHU, said she met Edwards a few years back and has been tracking her progress as a player.

“A couple of years ago, she came to a tournament that we were hosting,” Cunningham said. “And then, I got to go to a tournament that she was playing in and I met her and her family and I got to watch her play.

“Even since then, we’ve kinda kept tabs on each other.”

Edwards attended a camp that FHU held, then she visited again and had a chance to get to know the players and even practiced with the squad.

“To see her growth over the couple of years was awesome,” Cunningham said. “Knowing that she followed our program and that she was interested in us, we’ve been interested in her. Finally, being able to seal that deal and get her to come and join us at Freed-Hardeman is really exciting.”

Westview Principal Brian Allen said that all of the credit for Edwards signing should go to Elizabeth and her coaches.

“She deserves all of the credit,” Allen said. “Her and her coaches and her family, she’s No. 1. It’s about her.

“Westview is just lucky to have her play here and for us to be able to offer that for her.”

But it is a big deal for a program that has only been in existence for five years. Since the start of the program, the middle school has also started their own volleyball squad, something that both Allen and Edwards said will benefit the varsity program in the future.   

“That’s obviously going to help,” Allen said. “When they were first coming up here in years past, they had never played before. With them starting to play down there [at the middle school] and then they see that they are able to go and play somewhere in college that will help out with more girls wanting to come out [for the team] and to know that there are opportunities out there for them.”

Edwards said that choosing FHU was an easy one, especially because it is a faith-based university.

“That’s definitely something that I wanted in a college,” Edwards said. “And it was just how welcoming in all of the coaches and the players were.

“I didn’t feel unwanted or discouraged while I was playing. I definitely really liked that.”

She also said knowing the players that are already there was a plus when making her decision as to where she wanted to play college volleyball.

“I’ve known the players for two years so I know the players names and what grade they’re in,” Edwards said. “And, I feel like they know me too.”