Setting up for a bright future
two years, she’s been the team’s setter, and, for the season that recently ended, its unofficial clear leader.
Ekeler recently granted a sit-down interview that covered a wide range of topics, beginning with her introduction to volleyball.
“(Older sister) Abby used to take me in the driveway and hit volleyballs at me as hard as she could when I was really young,” Ekeler said. “I wanted to be exactly like her.” Abby played volleyball recently for UTK.
Born in Louisiana, Ekeler has lived in eight states because of her father Mike’s football coaching career. Mike Ekeler was recently the Special Teams coordinator at UT.
Ekeler arrived in Knoxville in eighth grade and attended Hardin Valley Academy that year. Her freshman year she attended Knoxville Catholic High School, then transferred to Farragut for her sophomore year.
She credits her father with giving her the encouragement to believe in herself, and that she could excel in volleyball.
“My dad is the most positive, encouraging person in my entire life,” she said. “He always told me if I work hard enough I can be good at anything.”
