AHN star well-rounded on and off court

Erica Almerico doesn't just play volleyball. She writes about it.

On the court, the 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter for the Academy of the Holy Names is one of the county's top returning players. She was second on the team in kills last season behind Maureen Colligan (who now plays for Colgate), and led the Jaguars with a 42.5 hitting percentage and 48 aces. Almerico, who also plays for the Tampa Bay Juniors 17-U team, is being recruited by Cornell, Holy Cross, Loyola of New Orleans, Washington & Lee and Catholic University.

Off the court, Almerico also is doing well. An aspiring journalist, she's a junior editor for Volleyball USA magazine and currently is working on a story about a high school player in Washington who is fighting cancer.

For good measure, Almerico is spearheading the effort to hold another Breast Cancer Awareness Night at a Holy Names match in October. Last season’s event, which coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, raised more than $1,500 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

“It’s going to be exciting watching Erica in her senior year,’’ Jaguars coach Kevin Reynolds said. “I am confident she will be a dominant force on the outside and contribute to the team’s overall success.’’

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Comments

[SpellCheck]

...fighting cancer works too.

[SpellCheck]

Keith: it's battling cancer, not batting cancer.