By Olivia Dobbs
Contributor
From the moment she laced up her volleyball shoes as a little girl to her final game in high
school, Rory Tower has embraced her passion for the sport and now gets to carry that love into college volleyball.
Tower is a senior on the Desert Mountain volleyball squad and is committed to playing
volleyball at Saint Micheals College, a Division II school in Vermont. Tower had conversations
with many different schools, but something about them just wasn’t clicking for the middle
blocker. The very first conversation she had with head coach Lauren Brough of St. Michaels led her to fall in love with the school and particularly her coaching style.
“I remember looking at my dad and saying I think this is my favorite coach I have ever talked
to,” said Tower.
Tower mentioned how much of an impact her parents had on her and thanked them for being her toughest critics, but yet her strongest supporters. Her dad, when she was a young girl, put her into many different sports to teach her how to compete. She credits her dad for instilling her competitive spirit and empowering her to pursue her passion for competition.
Tower is the kind of player every team aspires to have. She is a high-energy, vocal, and powerful player who always puts the team first. Not only is she a great player, but she is an even better leader.
“She is a great leader from being a good teammate to bringing energy every day in practice and always doing the little things to make her teammates better. She is always working hard, first in the gym, and willing to do whatever we ask of her,” said head coach Dana Achtzehn.
Inside and outside of the gym, Tower is always looking for ways to better herself and advance
her skillset. If she is not at volleyball practice she is either in the gym lifting or at a private
getting those extra reps in. The hard work she puts in day in and day out shows when she steps out on the court.
“She supports me when I need it and on the court, I know that she’ll lift me up if I’m down. Rory has left a highly positive impact on me as a player. She has made me a better player by constantly pushing me to improve. She believes in me even when I don’t believe in myself and
boots my confidence,” said junior outside hitter Ava Archibald.
Tower wants to remind the younger girls that this is just volleyball and it is supposed to be fun.
She is a competitive player and will get on her team when they are not living up to the standards. Tower expressed that she loves to have fun and wants to remind her team that playing high school volleyball does not last forever and they should put forth their best effort to get the most out of their experience.
During tough matchups and games where her setter is unable to get her a clean ball, she spends her time doing work to get her teammates open and she does this job on every play.
Tower is a selfless player who gives her all in every play, tirelessly working to position her team for success, even when she isn’t directly involved.
Even a player like Tower has games where she struggles and looks for a way out. When Tower gets stuck in a rut she likes to remind herself that it's just a game.
“You can’t hold onto the loss or how you played in that game, so I usually take an hour after the game dwell on it and then forget about it. You have to be able to move on to the next game,” said Tower.
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