Sydni Shelton celebrates winning the Class 4A State Championship in October. She was named the 2014 Hartselle Enquirer Player of the Year. | Michael Wade

Danville’s senior outside hitter made a name for herself on a team that dominated some of the toughest competition in the state, making her the Hartselle Enquirer Player of the Year this season.

Sydni Shelton is a 6’1” force to be reckoned with on a 4A powerhouse that went 51-11 and won their first state championship title. She had a 45.5 percent kill percentage with her 786 kills this season. She also did her part on defense with 423 digs for the year.

In her five year career on the Hawks’ varsity team, Shelton racked up 3,377 kills, 402 blocks, 1,612 digs, 314 aces and 197 assists.

Shelton was named to the 4A All-Tournament Team and earned the championship Most Valuable Player award.

After starting volleyball for the first time in seventh grade, Danville’s head coach Spencer Cole quickly moved Shelton to varsity her eighth grade year. Her skills in volleyball have also earned her a scholarship to play Division I volleyball for the Kennesaw State University Owls in Kennesaw, Ga., about 20 miles north of Atlanta.

Cole said Shelton had been playing in all six rotations for him for the past four years.

“Sydni has been who teams have known they had to stop for the last four years, and they haven’t done it yet,” Cole said. “We’ve played the toughest competition that we could this year in the north, and she’s dominated. She might have even scared away a state power 7A team this year. They couldn’t stop Sydni last year, and we almost beat them. We had match indispensable throughout her career.

“I did not see anyone who meant more to her team than Syd,” Cole said. “Unlike some of the bigger schools who have multiple big hitters to distract away from their best one or who the athletes to run quicker offenses, teams always stacked up against Sydni when she was on front row, and they still couldn’t stop her. I didn’t see anyone else this year that dictated the game like she did.”

Shelton has worked hard for her success, dedicated most of the year to volleyball. She plays high school volleyball from July to October and continues club volleyball with the Smith Lake Juniors from January until about April or May. Shelton also plays basketball for Danville with play dates in June and the season lasting from the time volleyball is over in October into the travel volleyball season until February.

“People tell me it will be really hard because I won’t have any free time in college since I’m playing a sport,” Shelton said, “but I don’t really have free time now either. I know it’s going to be different, but I’m excited about getting to continue playing volleyball.”

Shelton said winning the state championship had been a goal of hers since she first made it to the state tournament in eighth grade.

“After getting put out in the state tournament in eighth grade, I stayed and watched the final match,” Shelton said. “I just sat there and saw the winning team so ridiculously happy and thought about what that must be like. Since then it’s been what I wanted so bad to achieve. Winning the state championship was an absolute dream come true for me and for all of us. I just keep thinking now that I wish I could win more of them, but my shot is over. I’m just blessed I get to keep playing in college and doing what I love without paying a dime for my college education.”

Kennesaw State offers the nursing major Shelton currently intends to pursue.

“I loved Kennesaw because they told me I could do nursing there,” Shelton said. “Some of the schools I looked at didn’t even show me a classroom. I am excited to play volleyball, but I didn’t want to waste my time taking classes I didn’t really care about just to keep playing. Kennesaw is beautiful and I get to do what I love without giving up my academics.”

Shelton said she has set goals for herself of getting playing time as a freshman, possibly being recognized in the Atlantic Sun conference as a freshman and even winning a conference title.