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Sports

Kelsey Wilson Ready To Be Impact Player For University of Akron

The Zips hope Ferndale senior can step on the court as a freshman and be a difference maker.

Kelsey Wilson didn’t spend a lot of time agonizing over the University of Akron’s scholarship offer.

“It was just the perfect fit,” Wilson said.

The Ferndale senior signed her national letter of intent for a .

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She visited Akron twice, once on an unofficial visit and the other as part of the official recruiting process, and liked what she saw.

Wilson spent some time with the Zips coaching staff and players. She liked both groups and came away from the visits with a good feeling about the campus itself. The university has a student body of 29,000 students and is located in downtown Akron. 

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Before visiting Akron, she did make one unofficial trip to Ferris State University. She liked that campus as well, but quickly decided the offer from the Zips was too good to pass up.

“I’m really excited,” Wilson said. “This just takes the burden off my shoulders.”

An impact player

Most college freshmen spend a lot of time on the bench. When Wilson steps onto campus in the fall, Akron’s coaching staff have told her she’ll probably be an exception.  

“They asked me to graduate early so I could go,” Wilson said. “They see me playing the first year a lot, they’re not exactly sure where – middle or right.” 

Wilson decided not to graduate early, but it is excited at the prospect of playing as freshman. The Zips told Wilson and her parents they tend to recruit two different types of players – development and impact. They see Wilson as an impact player.

“Sometimes they recruit people to develop them over the years and they will play their sophomore and junior years,” Wilson said. “But they said I would be an impact player and play as a freshman.”

This wasn’t a surprise to her head coach Shannon Pietras. Pietras coached Wilson as a freshman as the junior varsity coach and then for three years as head coach of the varsity team. 

“Kelsey Wilson is truly a special player and person,” said. “Players like her do not come along very often.”

Pietras said Wilson has the ability to dominate at the net offensively and is an amazing defender.  She set school records her junior year with 518 kills, 142 blocks and 103 aces. It didn’t take Wilson long to beat her own school record for blocks. This past season, she set a new record with 152 blocks.

Wilson knows it won’t be easy replicating those kinds of numbers at the next level. On her official visit, she saw the Akron volleyball team twice and came away impressed.

“Everyone plays at a really high level,” Wilson said. 

She said the biggest difference was the speed of the game. It will take adjustments like getting to the net faster to block and moving around on offense more for her to be successful next year.

“If I practice and work hard enough I’ll get up to that speed,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s high school sports career not quite finished

The Eagles volleyball team was eliminated from the districts in the first round, but that doesn’t mean Wilson won’t be active until next year.

She starts club volleyball in the next couple of weeks. Back during her sophomore year, Pietras suggested Wilson play on a club team during the offseason. She’s played as part of the club team Instant Replay for the past three years.

The experience playing year round is one of the reasons Wilson transformed into one of the top players in Oakland County. 

“Everyone is at higher level,” Wilson said. “It’s year long, and Irick (Gardner) is a really good coach. He works really hard to get your skill level up. Playing year long with really good players helped a ton.” 

Gardner is the coach of the Bloomfield Hills Marian High School varsity team as well. Gardner was one of the reasons that Akron University started recruiting Wilson.

“One of his older players from his high school goes there,” Wilson said. “They asked him if he knew any middle blockers, so he recommended me to them. They came out and watched a tournament and a practice, then asked me to visit.”

Wilson will also play on the varsity soccer team in the spring for the Eagles. Soccer was originally her favorite sport, before volleyball became her sport of choice.

“When I was younger I liked soccer a lot, but once I started playing volleyball and club volleyball, I started to like it better,” Wilson said.

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