PSU volleyball setter Garyn Schlatter had quite a junior year.

Schlatter, who received the 2013 Norm Daniels endowed scholarship, also became the first PSU three-time All-Big Sky First Team selection in volleyball, and was named to the Big Sky Fall All-Academic team. The Vikings' floor captain for the last three years also made the BYU Nike Invitational All-Tournament team.

But it was the team effort of winning the Big Sky Conference regular season title that she described as the highlight of the year.

“It was the second year for our group playing together,” said the 5-foot-10 senior out of Canby High School. “A lot of the success was from just being used to playing with each other. We worked better together.”

The year also brought a new role for the third-year floor captain, who has been a starter all three years. This was the first year when her role was strictly to set; that, she said, created some challenges.

“I had to learn to handle the pressure because I was responsible for calling all the plays ... every play, every time. That meant improving my volleyball intelligence. I had to learn to see everything that was going on, know what had just happened and anticipate what was likely to happen next … and it all happened faster,” Schlatter said.

And she handled it well, says head coach Michael Seemann.

Asked about Schlatter's strengths, Seemann said, “Her discipline and physicality come to mind. She has tremendous strength. She redshirted her first year, but has started the last three years.” Until this year “she has hit for us sometimes; that means you have to be able to play high, to be able to jump and have a good arm.”

It's a “bit unusual” to be both hitting and setting at this level, he said, but Schlatter's skills are such that he sees an expanded hitting role for her next season.

Schlatter's personal goal this past year was improved consistency … “consistency in my volleyball skills, my leadership and my attitude. In my role as a setter, if I could be consistent, no matter what, it helped the whole team.”

Her consistency improved, she said, but “you can't be perfect. Every day, every practice, you try to improve, but there's still a lot of room for improvement.”

Her improvement earned her an expanded role next year when she'll be in a system where she can hit more, said Seemann. She'll be adding back a skill she's done before.

“I've hit before, so it's not new,” Schlatter said. “I'm looking forward to it. Since I'll be doing both setting and hitting, that gives me a different perspective than if I were only sitting or hitting. I can understand both sides and, if I can do that well, I can help the team.”

She's also looking forward to graduating in the spring of 2014 with a double major in Community Health and Physical Activity and Exercise and she is thinking of graduate school. But perhaps the biggest thing on her mind for the future is marriage to former Viking football player, tight end Kyle McMillin.  That won't happen until after she graduates, and then maybe graduate school, “but we'll see what marriage brings first.”

Of course, there's still another year of volleyball, and she and Seemann both hope this sees the Vikings back atop the Big Sky Conference.