Two-time player of the week, Tabatha Piper continues to aid her team towards an OAC title this season with another impressive performance against the University of Northwestern Ohio.
Piper, a junior public relations major from Sunbury, Ohio, has been involved in sports since she can remember.
“I grew up playing sports,” Piper said. “My family was involved in (sports) and I played with my cousins and brother a lot.”
After being a part of different sports as a child Piper transitioned to volleyball while in middle school. Now in her third year at Otterbein, Piper is ranked nationally in the top 10 for assists per game. The Cardinals are 17-4.
“I just think game-by-game,” Piper said. “I go in doing my thing (and) I want to win.”
Since being at Otterbein, Piper has been named OAC freshman of the year, first team All-OAC, first team all-region and third team AVCA All-America.
“I’m not the fastest or the strongest,” she said. “But I like to think that I am the smartest.”
However, Piper tries not to spend too much time focused on volleyball.
“I definitely want to go overseas,” Piper said. “I have friends who have studied abroad, and I am so jealous of them because they get to do that.”
Piper mentioned that she wants to travel to Australia, Europe and throughout the United States, especially the West Coast. She said she would like to explore places that she has never been to.
But when Piper is on the volleyball court she tries to have fun with it, especially with her head coach, Monica McDonald.
“At John Carroll, (McDonald) and I bet a cookie that a player was going to jump at the left side or in the middle,” Piper said. “Of course, I lost, but we like to have little funny bets.”
According to Piper, success of the team brings out individual success.
“I’m not going out every week saying, ‘I want to be player of the week,‘” she said. “I think it just comes with being successful as a team.”
