Jessi Betcher of Gunbarrel wasted little time making her mark in big time college volleyball. Betcher, a former Colorado state player of the year at Boulder High, was instrumental in leading the Clemson Tigers to a Number 16 national ranking and a berth in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. For her efforts she was named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year.

Betcher was named ACC Rookie of the Week six times over the course of the season. As a setter, she led the nation with 14.18 assists per game through the week of November 7th. When the All-Conference team for the ACC was announced, Betcher was named to the second team.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, their season ended when they were upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament 3-1 by Indiana. Clemson finished with a 31-3 record.

Betcher comes from a long line of college athletes. Her older brother, Matt, played soccer at Seattle Pacific, helping the team to a second place finish in the NCAA Division II Tournament in 1990. Her older sister, Ali, was a standout softball and basketball player at Boulder High before attending Metro State, where she played on the women’s basketball team, which made the NCAA Regionals in 1993. Ali’s daughter Tyler is in Kindergarten at Heatherwood.

"I started playing volleyball when I was in 6th grade," Betcher recalled. "My sister Ali was playing for the Boulder Volleyball Club. We used to practice at Baseline Junior High and Niwot High. I was tall for my age so I played on the 14 Gold team. I started as a setter and I’ve just always been a setter."

Betcher is excited about her experience at Clemson. "It’s more fun than I expected," she noted. "And I do a lot more than volleyball."

When Betcher reported for volleyball practice last fall, she was faced with the prospect of beating out a returning starter for the setter’s position. "The coach told us right at the beginning that no one has a starting position," she recalled.

Her mother Claire recalls the phone calls from her daughter. "The first day, she called and said, ’I probably won’t play.’ By August 9 she called and said she ‘might play some.’" Her parents had no clue she was starting until she got to the first game against Michigan and the coach put her in with the top six.

Betcher is majoring in sports marketing at Clemson and has already lined up an internship for next year with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. "My friend’s uncle is Mookie Blaylock," she explained.