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The volleyball court is home to Lanier Glisson. The Troup senior has been molded by the sport in ways that she cannot quite articulate. Volleyball is where Glisson came into her own and now as she enters the twilight of her volleyball career at Troup High, she cannot help but look back on the journey that got her where she is now.

“I didn’t realize it was going to be such a big part of my life,” Glisson said of when she first started playing. “I feel like when I first started playing, it was just I thing I did on the side because softball was my life. And now volleyball is my love and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

Recently announced as a representative on the 2024 homecoming court, Glisson is a leader for the school on and off the volleyball court.

For the longest time, volleyball played second fiddle to softball for Glisson. She played softball from the moment she could pick up a bat until she went to high school. With volleyball and softball both being fall sports in high school, Glisson had to make a hard choice when it came to what sport she would continue to play and which one she would say a hard goodbye to.

“It was very hard,” Glisson said of giving up softball. “There were a lot of tears, but I am still friends with a lot of the girls that I played softball with, and so I don’t feel like I lost that. It was just that I wasn’t playing softball anymore.”

Glisson is somewhat of a late bloomer when it comes to volleyball. She did not find the sport until sixth grade when she knew next to nothing about it. It was a steady climb from Long Cane to JV her freshman year to making a big impact on varsity as a sophomore.

During that time she played practically every position on the court.

“When I was in eighth grade and a freshman, I was a setter, and then I was a right side, and I’ve also played middle, and now I’m an outside so I pretty much played everything except for libero,” Glisson said with a chuckle.

While Glisson undoubtedly developed as a player during that time, it was her evolution as a leader that set her apart. Last year, she really began that transition with the help of the four supremely talented seniors on that team.

This season, she has fully embraced the role of a leader alongside some of her fellow long-time teammates like Asa Hall and Jamiya Reed among others.

“It’s really weird. It just feels like I shouldn’t be a senior,” Glisson said. “I feel like I’m still like a freshman, but I like it because it makes me feel like I can take control when I need to. I want to be a leader because I want other girls to have somebody to look up to.”

Even before stepping into a leadership role this season, Glisson has been a key contributor for the Tigers. She was one of the key players on the team that made history in 2023, making it to the state quarterfinals for the first time in program history.

“That was probably the most fun thing that I’ve ever done,” Glisson said. “I’ve never played in an atmosphere like the Elite 8 game last year.”

“I think that’s my favorite memory, going to the Elite 8 last year, because the playoffs in general, we just traveled so much, and we were together a lot,” she added. “We would go eat lunch or eat dinner. And I just enjoyed spending that time with those girls.”

It has been a bit of a strange final run for Glisson this season. The Tigers have had just one home game this season so far and there have been a lot of road trips. While she missed the home crowds, Glisson and the team are making the most of it.

“It’s fun. I like having road trips, having fun with the girls on the bus and I just like to go to different schools,” Glisson said. “I like seeing different environments around the state.”

When Glisson is not out leaping everybody on the court to get to the volleyball, you can likely find her at something Troup related, whether it be a football game, a softball game or something else entirely, Glisson shows up and shows out for her Troup Tigers.

“My family are obviously big Troup people,” Glisson said, flashing a big grin. “Whenever I wear the jersey or go to a game I want people to see me and think she always represents Troup.”