For the average person, the first day at a new job might entail setting up an office, touring a building, or perhaps filling out paperwork at human resources.

For Stetson University volleyball coach Kristina Hernandez, her first day on campus last March was slightly more hectic.

Hernandez hosted an official recruiting visit for a 6-2 middle blocker from Avon, Indiana, named Shelby Connors, pictured far left. (By Jim Hogue Photos.) The assistant coach at the time Meghan Bryant had seen Connors play and knew the visit was extremely important if the Hatters were going to sign the recruit.

“Shelby’s official visit was literally my first day here,” Hernandez said. “Meghan had been recruiting her. She told me, ‘You have got to get Shelby. She is a great middle. We need her.’

It was unusual for someone with Connors height and ability to still be uncommitted as a senior. As the starting middle for Avon High School, Connors had been a part of two Indiana High School State Championships, and she set a new school record for most block assists in a season.

However, Connors watched as her teammates, both on her high school team and her club team, signed with other Division I schools. Even the juniors were making commitments, while Connors was still searching for the right fit.

“I talked to other schools, and I had gone on some visits, but I wasn’t really interested in any of them,” Connors said.

Initially, Stetson had not been high on Connors’s list, either. The high school senior was hoping to stay close to home, or least somewhere in the Midwest. Bryant had tried to reach out to Connors through her club coach, Lori Janssen, but Connors was not interested. Janssen urged Connors to get in touch with Stetson, and eventually contact was made. Connors and Bryant communicated quite a bit throughout the fall, but in the winter, contact from the Stetson side suddenly stopped.

“I figured Stetson had moved on,” Connors said. “It is normal for that to happen.”

As spring approached, more and more people were urging Connors to make a decision. Finally, after a visit to the University of Memphis, Connors thought she was ready to commit. That was when she received a call from an unfamiliar phone number.

“This voice said, ‘Hi, Shelby!’ and I was thinking, ‘Who is this?'” Connors said. “It was from some New York area number. She explained she was the new coach at Stetson, and she invited me down for a visit. That was real surprising. I had no idea Stetson was still looking at me.”

Travel arrangements were made, and a week later, Connors flew down to DeLand for an official visit. It did not take long for her to feel right at home.

“I knew within 40 minutes of being on campus that I wanted to go here,” Connors said. “All the girls reminded me of people from where I am from, so there was a familiarity.  It was also one of the top educational institutions I had visited, and that was important to me. I was really interested in studying business. When I found out about the law school that also peaked my interest. The palm tress, of course, got me. I really liked to coaching staff as well. Everything was perfect.”

Connors was sold, and she told her mom as much on her way home. Hernandez, however, still needed to see Connors play, which she did just a few days later in Indiana. Hernandez made a formal offer right then and there, and after discussing it with her family, Connors happily accepted.

“We were very fortunate she wasn’t signed yet and we were able to pick her up and bring her here,” Hernandez said.

Connors has thoroughly enjoyed her time at Stetson so far, both on and off the court. Having started all 14 matches this season, the Hatter freshman leads the team and ranks among the conference leaders in blocks (47) and attack percentage (.282).

“She works hard every day during practice,” Hernandez said. “She is getting much more physical and stronger in her attacking. She is doing some different things and mixing up her shots. She is also starting to be more vocal. I think we are going to see some really great things from her as the season continues to progress and during the rest of her years here at Stetson.”

“I think we are doing well as a team, but we can still be doing better,” Connors said. “You can tell we are a young team and we haven’t played together for three years like some of the other teams. We still have a lot of the season left. Once we work out some of the little kinks, it will all start to click at once.”

Stetson will visit Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. Friday and USC Upstate at 3 p.m. Saturday. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app for mobile devices.

GoHatters.com.

By Jamie Bataille