LaFayette standout spiker signs with Savannah State
The LaFayette Lady Ramblers have had their share of standout volleyball players in its long and successful history, but they have never had a player go on to sign with an NCAA Division I program.
That all changed this past Friday as senior Karissa Tatum gave her signature to join the Lady Tigers of Savannah State University in a ceremony at LaFayette High School.
“It’s crazy to think I’m going to play in college,” Tatum said. “I’m proud to be able to say it, but it’s still kind of crazy to think about.”
Tatum had a meteoric rise on the volleyball court, despite not even starting out in the sport until her eighth grade year.
She will leave LaFayette next month as one of the most highly-decorated players to ever suit up for the Lady Ramblers. She finished with 1,040 career kills, four AllRegion team selections – including three first team picks – and Walker County Dream Team first team honors in all four seasons she wore orange and black.
“It wasn’t until I was a sophomore that I really fell in love with (volleyball),” Tatum added. “After that, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.”
Tatum said Savannah State first came on her radar after she attended a showcase in Ohio.
“Their coach (Edric) Poitier was a coach there and he saw me play,” she explained. “I contacted him and it just sort of worked out from there.
“The players were really nice when I visited and (Poitier) is a great man and a really good coach. Plus it’s in Savannah. It’s right in the middle of the city and it’s close to the beach. I just love everything about it.”
LaFayette head coach Chris Logan said Tatum was just an allaround great athlete.
“I took over right before her sophomore year and she was all about soccer,” he recalled. “But this past season, she said she wanted to play volleyball in college. She’s worked hard and had a big year this past season.
“She had over 1,000 kills for her high school career and if she hadn’t been coming off the knee injury (following her junior year), she might have had 50 to 100 more. I doubt she’ll be a middle hitter in college, but being left-handed, I can see her fitting in on the right side for (Savannah State). I think most of the colleges that had been looking at her were looking at her as a right-side player.”
Coach Whitney Brown, who coached Tatum in both volleyball and soccer, called her
“special”.
“As a freshman, we knew she was special and not just athletically,” Brown said. “She was also a good kid with good character and she could hit with both hands so she was just a pleasant surprise.
“Then in soccer, she scored 16 goals as a freshman, so she was a two-sport athlete who could already compete with the big dogs that early. She has those long arms and those
long legs and just looks smooth in everything she does. She does things other people just can’t do. Even now, she’s just fun to watch.
“I’ve had her in weight training, P.E. and coached her almost every day for the last four years. I’ve watched her grow up, even go through knee surgery and a great recovery. She did everything she was supposed to do and came back (from the injury) even earlier than expected. I’ll really miss her as a player and a person.”
Savannah State is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference (MEAC). The Lady Tigers played the likes of Georgia, Georgia Southern, Austin Peay, Troy, San Francisco and East Carolina this past season.
“She’s the first (NCAA Division I volleyball player) from LaFayette that I know about,” Logan added. “That’s something that doesn’t happen much around here so it’s big for our program. We’re excited about that.
Tatum said she is considering several courses of study in college, including forensic pathology, healthcare or business.