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The LaGrange volleyball team is enjoying a remarkable turnaround this season. It has been a total team effort, but the progress and gains Aniyah Payne has made on the court have helped elevate the Grangers to heights they haven’t seen in years as the team has eclipsed its win total in each of the last eight seasons. 

Payne has put in the work and has steadily improved since she first found the sport as a seventh grader. The last three seasons she has toiled away on the JV team, waiting for her moment. That moment came heading into her senior season as Payne was listed on the varsity roster for the first time. 

“I knew there was a big possibility that I would be on varsity this year, but I had to remain humble and work hard to earn my spot,” she stated. 

This is not some charity case where a senior gets a spot on varsity because it’s her final season. Payne earned her spot with first-year head coach Mehgan Smith singling her out as the team’s strongest performer through the opening couple weeks of the season.

“To have a coach that sees you through the good and bad times and has so much faith and confidence in you throughout all the years is special,” Payne said. “She never gave up on me, pushed me even when I didn’t want to be pushed.”

Smith previously coached Payne on the JV team and the two have built up a strong rapport over the years.

Having a coach who fully believes in her capabilities on the court has helped her grow into the player she is today. But Payne also came into the season with a sense of self-confidence, that it was her time to shine.

Payne is as humble and soft-spoken off the court as she is a fiery competitor on the court. She never knew she had this passion in her until she found volleyball.

“I really didn’t want to play volleyball at first, my mom, she made me do it, and I ended up loving it,” Payne said. “I’ve never in my life played a sport or thought that a sport would actually make me happy, that I would enjoy the team that I’m on, that I would have such bonds with my coaches and that I would actually love my teammates. It feels like a family outside of my own household.”

For the most part, Payne was a passenger for her first several years playing volleyball. That all changed when she got in the right environment with the right coaches her sophomore year.

“I really started to form bonds with my teammates and started to realize that I really loved playing volleyball,” Payne said. “I can see myself being around volleyball for the rest of my life.”

“It was like a dream come true,” Payne added about seeing her name on the varsity roster for the first time. 

With a plethora of different coaches over her six years playing volleyball, consistency could have been hard to come by. Not for Payne, who slotted in as a middle hitter and her position has never changed ever since.

Payne does not play other sports as her heart has been on the court for the last several years. As she goes through her final run in blue and white, she can’t help feeling overcome by emotion looking back at the journey. 

“It’s been fun so far,” Payne said, flashing a big smile. “I just want to thank God because without him I would not be here. There have been a lot of ups and downs and he’s gotten me through it all.”