Erin Lamb taking her talents down to Lexington
STEWARTVILLE, Minn. (BVM) — Early this month, Gatorade released the 2020-21 Gatorade volleyball state players of the year and the recipient for Minnesota was Stewartville senior Erin Lamb.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 just such an honor,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really amazing. I mean with so many incredible volleyball players in Minnesota just to be up there with them is an honor so to then win is just incredible.鈥�
Although they were unable to defend their 2019 Class AA state title, Lamb still helped the Tigers go undefeated this past season with a record of 11-0.聽
鈥淚 mean it was definitely different and a lot of adversity,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淏ut I think as a team we just had
the mindset of we鈥檙e just going to make the most out of what we have. When we set our goals our goal was to be undefeated and we worked on that at every practice. We kept that in mind, that this is what we have so we鈥檙e going to make the most out of it and we did. 鈥� Through everything through the season it鈥檚 just awesome to say we accomplished that.鈥澛�
Lamb did more than her share out on the court. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter had 134 kills, 80 digs, 22 blocks and 21 service aces. Her kill percentage in her last high school season was .479 and her hitting percentage was .388. Prior to being named 2020-21 Gatorade Minnesota Volleyball Player of the Year, Lamb had received her fourth first-team聽 all-state selection and was a American Volleyball Coaches Association second team All-American selection.聽
The Kentucky Wildcat commit finished her high school career with 1,248 kills and was the No. 32-ranked player in the country for the class of 2021. However, it was not that long ago that Lamb may have chosen another path for her athletic career.聽
鈥淚 played pretty much every sport you can as a kid but definitely loved basketball and I loved volleyball,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淭hose were my two top sports. Basketball was probably my No. 1 for a long time until my sophomore year.鈥澛�
In fact it was during her freshman year of basketball that Lamb was given the nickname 鈥渢he freshman phenom鈥� by Stewartville superfan Adam Peterson.聽
鈥淚 guess it just kind of stuck,鈥� Lamb said.
Of course, the 鈥渇reshman鈥� part of the name was dropped after her first year at Stewartville High School, but the nickname was well deserved. Lamb was all-conference as a sophomore and was even receiving attention from colleges.聽聽聽
鈥淚 think I was actually recruited more for basketball right away,鈥� Lamb said.聽
Even with her success, Lamb made the decision early on in her high school career that volleyball would be her priority and the sport she would try to play in college.聽
鈥淚 think in the end it just came down to where I saw that my ceiling was higher,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淚 just felt like I could see myself getting to a higher peak in volleyball than I could in basketball.鈥�
The decision turned out to be a great one as Lamb began to get recruited from some of the top programs in the country for volleyball, including Kentucky. But the Wildcats were one of a few different schools that were a part of Lamb鈥檚 final decision, which she made in October of 2019.聽
i am so excited to announce that i have verbally committed to play volleyball and further my education at the university of kentucky! thank you to my family, coaches, friends & teammates for all of the support! go cats!!!
— Erin Lamb (@erinnnlamb)
鈥淚 probably had two or three other schools that I was seriously looking at so it was a tough decision, but I am definitely confident that I made the right choice,鈥� Lamb said.聽
That decision has only continued to look better as Kentucky is coming off a national championship season. This year, the Wildcats also welcomed in the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2020 and the 2021 recruiting class that Lamb is a part of ranks third in the nation.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 insane and just so awesome to be able to have the opportunity to walk into the gym on the first day with the defending national champions,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淭o be able to be a part of that and hopefully do it again will be insane. Obviously there鈥檚 nerves involved when I鈥檓 going there, I鈥檓 not going to deny that but overall I鈥檓 just very, very excited to get to work.鈥澛�
If it is anything like her high school career, those nerves will melt away pretty quickly as Lamb has never been one to shy away from competition. As a freshman for the Tigers, she never let seniority or size affect her play out on the court. She was confident in her abilities and trusted that everything would fall into place if she played her game.聽
That brought her success in high school and she believes it will bring her success at the collegiate level as well. Lamb is ready for her moment and that is her favorite part of her game.聽
鈥淚 think the best part of my game that really drives me is my offense,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淕etting that big kill in the big moments, being able to take over in those big moments and wanting to get the final kill and wanting that ball when it鈥檚 23-24 set point, I think that鈥檚 the part of my game that is the best, is my favorite, just playing in those big moments and wanting to be in those moments.鈥�
Those big moments will now be on the national stage and Lamb wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way.
