By Marty Gordon
Auburn High School’s Allyson Martin will continue her volleyball career at Bluefield State College in Bluefield, West, Virginia. The two-time state player of the year signed a letter of intent Tuesday in the school’s library in front of family, friends, coaches, and teammates.
Martin said she chose Bluefield State because of the campus and the coaching staff. She was named the 1A State, Region C, and Mt. Empire District Player of the year her junior and senior seasons and this past season reached the 1,000-kill plateau.
At Auburn, she was a part of four straight outstanding teams that brought home back-to-back state trophies.
Bluefield State has a current enrollment of 1,228. The school’s athletic teams compete as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and as a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).
The Bluefield State volleyball team finished 12-11 this past season.
Savanna Hammond is entering her first season as head coach for the Bluefield State women’s volleyball team at Bluefield State. Hammond was a walk-on at Radford University where she earned a full scholarship for her last three seasons. Her team at Radford earned two Big South regular-season titles, one Big South Tournament championship, and one NCAA Tournament berth in 2013. Hammond is also an Associate Club Director for the River Valley Juniors Volleyball Club where she has coached at the nationals level for the last four club seasons.
At Bluefield State, Martin plans to major in nursing. On the court, she hopes to play as a freshman and make a quick positive impact.