Point doubles down on Walker County with Emma Boles
Just three days after picking up a signature from Ridgeland’s Te’a Owens, the Point University volleyball program got another steal out of Walker County in Gordon Lee senior standout Emma Boles.
“It’s been a long time coming and something I’ve been hoping for for a really long time,” Boles said. “For it to finally come together and fall into place, and to have all these people here with me today, really means so much to me.”
An All-Area and AllTournament selection this past fall, Boles put together quite a resume during her time as a Lady Trojan.
The 5-foot-8 outside hitter was a Walker County Dream Team first team pick in each of the last three seasons, helping her team to four straight state playoff berths, two Class AA Elite Eight appearances and a Sweet 16 appearance in the Class A state tournament this past season.
Gordon Lee has won at least 30 matches in each of the last three years and the Lady Trojans were 121-41-7 in four seasons with Boles on the roster.
In the last three seasons combined, Boles has collected 571 kills, 909 digs and 275 aces. She had 310 kills this past season to go with 70 aces and 24 blocks, while her 575 digs was 20th best in the entire state of Georgia.
“She’s definitely a great outside hitter,” Point University assistant coach Jessica Langley said. “When she came to our open tryout, she was my pick. I definitely wanted her for our team.”
Boles began playing volleyball in the sixth grade, but said it was toward the end of her sophomore year when she began to realize she might have a future in the sport beyond high school.
“I started to realize I was really helping the team and becoming a key part of it,” she recalled. “That’s when I started to realize my potential.”
Boles said her tryout and visit to Point sold her on the NAIA school, located in West Point, Georgia.
“When I went to the tryout, the team was very encouraging and very uplifting,” she explained. “I like the small-town feel of it down there, but mostly I love the community aspect of it. Everyone is really down-to-earth. They were willing to get to know me and care about me as a player and they really made me feel like a part of it.”
She’ll also be rooming with Owens, who accompanied her on the trip to the tryout.
“Te’a was already committed to Point, but just having a friend go down there with me really helped a lot,” she added. “The fact that we’re going to be rooming together and hopefully playing together just adds to the whole small-town thing.”
“She and Te’a have played together and they know how each other plays,” Langley added about the Georgia Adrenaline club ball teammates. “They’ll be bringing that to Point and they’ll be able to mesh well with the others (on the team).”
Gordon Lee coach Tricia Goodwin, herself a former college coach, said Boles already possesses solid skills that would serve her well at the next level.
“Emma’s an awesome player and she’s going to bring a lot to the college level, like intensity and competitiveness, plus she knows how to play all the way around,” Goodwin said. “This year, she’s expanded a lot in who she is. She will need to work some on her blocking, her vertical (jump) and back row play, because of the speed of the game, but as far as serving and overall hitting goes, I think her skills will transfer to the college game really well.
“And with her and Te’a being together and both being from this area, it’s going to be really cool to watch to see how they grow together.”
Boles said she is considering studying to become a physical or speech therapist in order to one day be able to work one-on-one with special needs children.