Young’s extra final season at SMSU was a great one for Mustangs volleyball

MARSHALL, MN (Dakota News Now) -The SMSU volleyball team just wrapped up another 20+ win season in Terry Culhane’s final year of coaching. It was also the final year of playing for our Athlete of the Week, Angela Young of Conde. And she’s glad she came back from working full-time for a very memorable season.

Angela Young, SMSU Senior says, “It came down to the fact that I could work for the rest of my life pretty much and I really wasn’t going to get this opportunity again. (So I didn’t want to take this for granted and to take advantage of this opportunity) and I ultimately love the game and I wanted to see what I could come back and do my last year of eligibility.”

Turned out to be a great choice. Angela had a dynamite final season after she had moved on to a full-time job. But had a change of heart and continued to work part time remotely and her teammates were glad to have who they called grandma back! Taylor Reiss, SMSU Assistant Coach says, “I think that can help a lot of the younger players who may not have the experience yet and make them feel more comfortable and let them know they have someone they can rely on. I think that helps her and I think it helps the rest of the team as well.” Angela says, “It’s all in fun and games and I think the younger girls appreciate the leadership that myself and some of the other girls bring to the table and I think they really look up to us, so that’s a nice feeling.”

In addition to being 1st team All-NSIC again and even National Player of the Week, The 23 year old also was almost like another coach on the floor. Terry Culhane says, “She is. We ask her things as like what do you think of this or what do you want to do with this because we move her around a lot and have a lot of expectations or her. It’s fair that she should be able to share her thoughts on that. She does everything. We try not to take her out of the game.”

And her former teammate and now assistant coach Taylor Reiss, who was the best to ever play for the Mustangs, loved seeing the growth in Angela as a player from the time she stepped foot on campus in Marshall. Reiss says, “She’s always been a good hitter but I think she’s really developed over the years to become a really good all-around player which I’m very proud of her for that.”

So how much did Angela enjoy this final season that almost didn’t happen. All the extra memories she got from her days as a player in a tremendous program that encourages excellence. Angela says, ”And thankfully I was able to get pushed by my coaches and by my teammates and ultimately that made me into the player I am today and I’m really grateful for that. It worked out in my favor with still being able to work and have that job security to come back to and yeah, it’s been quite a ride.”

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