Stier set to add depth for Chattanooga State spikers
With a father that works at Chattanooga State, Gracie Stier is already plenty familiar with the layout of the Amnicola Highway campus.
Which means that once she starts attending the school in person there next fall, she will already be a step ahead of the game.
Stier chose Chattanooga State on Thursday afternoon for both academics and athletics with the latter coming in the form of a spot on the Lady Tigers’ volleyball squad.
“It’s very exciting,” said the senior, who signed her letter of intent in front of numerous well-wishers and friends at the high school. “The coaches are super nice and I really like the campus and the gym. With my dad working there, I’ve kind of grown up knowing about (Chattanooga State), but I really never expected to be going there myself.”
Stier burst onto the Lafayette High volleyball scene as a freshman when she made the Catoosa-walker Dream Team after recording 136 kills, 138 digs, 36 assists, 62 aces and nine blocks. She was a second team selection following a somewhat injuryplagued sophomore season that saw her finish with 136 kills, 76 aces and 230 digs.
Back healthy as a junior, Stier earned Dream Team first team and second team All-region (6-AAAA) honors with 248 kills, 220 digs and 77 aces and she followed that up this past season with 289 kills, 221 digs and 68 aces to go with 24 blocks to make first team All-region.
During her four seasons with the Lady Ramblers, the team won one region title, went to state three times and collected 154 victories, the most for any Lafayette volleyball team in a four-year span.
“We’re excited about her,” Chattanooga State head coach Janet Tate said. “She’s going to be a big hitter for us and we think that she can play all the way around.”
“She has a lot of tools in the toolbox and we’re going to be able to benefit from her, both offensively and defensively,” assistant coach Robin Moore added. “She’s got a lot of spunk and I love her enthusiasm.”
Lafayette head coach Chris Logan called Stier “one of the best kids you could ask for to coach.”
“She has a great attitude and she’s just peppy all the time,” he said. “She always brings the energy to the court. I don’t recall one day in the last four years when she didn’t come to practice in a good mood. She’s always picking up the other kids and she’s just a really great kid to be around.
“(Chattanooga State) is getting a player with energy and work ethic and she’s super athletic. She’s a little undersized, height-wise, for a hitter, but she puts the work in and I think people will be surprised at what she can do.”
“Hopefully, I’ll be able to bring some hitting (to Chattanooga State) and some leadership too,” she added. “(Leadership) is something I tend to bring.”
Stier said she would study biology and perhaps move toward occupational therapy.