FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 27, 2020) – In this week's Northern Arizona volleyball 2020 signing class Q&A, Lyla Hollis checks in with NAU Athletics. Hollis is an outside hitter out of Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Q: What is the one thing that excites you most about joining the NAU Volleyball program?
A: Honestly, I'm really excited to play high-level volleyball with awesome coaches and teammates. I picked NAU because it was a great fit and I just love the coaches and players' attitudes towards their competition.
Q: How would you describe yourself as a volleyball player?
A: I consider myself hard-working and very motivated. I'm always trying to get better and I've learned how to overcome my setbacks.
Q: Speaking of setbacks, you suffered a foot injury that sidelined you during your senior year. What did you learn about yourself, as a result of the injury, that will help you transition from high school to the collegiate level?
A: Hurting my foot honestly gave me good perspective that I don't always need volleyball to push me to be a better athlete. I was out for eight months and I was able to become stronger, even in a cast. That proved to myself that I can be just as strong on the volleyball court than when I didn't have (my injury).
Q: You and your family took a medical mission trip to Honduras. What opened your eyes during this experience?
A: I worked in the (operating) rooms cleaning, so I was there before the patients had their surgeries and after when my dad wheeled them out. The looks on their faces knowing that they were going to have the opportunity to have surgery to fix the part of their body that they never thought they could use again was eye-opening. There were so many people who went years and years with torn ACLs – one guy's leg started to form in the wrong direction – and they were so thankful to be able to get back to work again.
Q: How did your trip to Honduras influence you in deciding to pursue a degree in biomedical science?
A: I want to go into nursing or maybe pre-med. I got to watch my dad do a reverse total shoulder (replacement) and I watched the whole surgery. I don't want to exactly be an orthopedic surgeon, but I realized that the nurses are just as important when they are in the operating rooms helping out the doctors. After that trip, I knew that is what I wanted to do.
Q: How have you been filling your time during the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: I'm not going to lie, I thought I would hate it, but I love spending time with my family. I thought I'd get annoyed being with six people in one house, but we play a lot of games together and we have family dinner every night. I honestly loved having the time with them.
Q: What is one fun fact about yourself?
A: I like to paint a lot in my free time, but one that is more unique is that I have 80 first cousins, just on my mom's side. We're all super close and that's not something a lot of people have.
Lyla Hollis At a Glance
Height: 6-0
Position: Outside Hitter
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colo.
High School: Air Academy
Stats to Know: Averaged 3.4 kills and 2.6 digs per set as a junior
What Head Coach Ken Murphy is saying: Lyla is someone we identified early as a true six-rotation outside hitter with the ability to make a big impact in our program. She plays for a high-level club and has developed solid ball control skills to go along with her obvious physicality at the net. She hits with power and a high contact point and is the kind of athlete that will get a lot better as she moves into the collegiate game. With her work ethic and team-first attitude, I'm confident she will fit with us right away and become a big contributor in the years ahead.
Previous Class of 2020 Q&A's
May 13 – Kate Hatch
May 20 – Savannah Bloom
