Knight, at 4-9, is a towering presence on volleyball court
Aryana Knight is the shortest player on the Oglethorpe County volleyball team, but in a sport where height is significant, she’s learned to use her size to her advantage.
Knight, at 4-foot-9, is the starting libero for the Patriots after Samantha Amos graduated last year. Amos set an ideal example for Knight, which allowed for a smooth transition.
“Every single time I was on the court, she was hyping me up,” Knight said. “She really made me realize that a libero is not only about your score, but it’s about how you lift other people up.”
Knight was a defensive specialist before Amos graduated. Head coach Brianne Harrison said she learned the libero position because both require strong defensive stills.
Harrison said she has improved tremendously over the past few years and is “more consistent overall in her game.”
“She’s doing what I need her and want her to be doing,” she said. “(I want her to) command the court, call the ball and be confident.”
Knight has 167 digs over the past three seasons and is ranked 199th nationally for digs this season, according to MaxPreps. She was 46th in digs in Area 8-A last year.
Knight is able to use her small stature to better her skills, especially when it comes to digging balls so low to the ground. Harrison said she “keeps the ball alive.”
“One of her strengths is being so petite and small,” she said. “She can pick up a lot of balls that are really hard to get to.”
Knight was an outside hitter when she started playing volleyball in seventh grade. Even now, she still likes to attack from the back row as much as she can. She credits her vertical jump to the work she puts in in the weight room.
“A lot of my players say that I just kind of come out of nowhere,” she said. “They don’t expect me to jump that high.”
Knight and Harrison also agree that Knight’s receiving serves has become one of her best skills. She has 484 returns in her career.
Knight said serve receive is a mind game, and she tells her teammates to have a calm mindset and “move freely.” She said in order to improve her serve receive game, she had to learn to relax and move her feet more.
Knight also said she is the “hype man” for her team, and even when she’s not playing her best, “the personality is definitely there.”
“My personality is 6-foot-5, I promise,” she said.
Knight also said that she has never felt intimidated by or inferior to her teammates because of her height. Knight noted that the taller players are better used for offense and hitting while the shorter players, like herself, are better at defense.
“We definitely work perfectly together,” she said. “It was never a competition.”