Parkersburg High School libero Olivia Perkins, pictured here making a pass while teammate Kennedy Porter looks on during a quad at Rod Oldham Athletic Center, had her signing ceremony on Friday afternoon to announce she’ll continue her career as a student-athlete at Fairmont State University.
(Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
PARKERSBURG — Olivia Perkins always dreamed of playing volleyball in college.
The Parkersburg High School senior libero had her signing ceremony on Friday afternoon to celebrate her choice to play at Fairmont State University for head volleyball coach Travis Hinkle.
“I started my recruiting process back last October. I started it really late,” admitted Perkins, who has a current 3.9-plus GPA, is president of the senior women’s club and a member of the National Honor Society as well as senior cabinet. “I had every athlete’s dream of going Division I.”
Perkins said she started the recruiting process on her own by sending out around 30 emails to coaches before she opted to go with NCSA College Recruiting.
Things started to pick up for the Big Red during the summer when she attended five camps, which included her first one at Elon, which she said was the only Division I program she looked at.
Although she had visits to W.Va. Wesleyan, Shepherd and West Liberty, once she went to Fairmont State in late July she had her answer.
“My body was worn out by this time,” Perkins recalled. “My mom went to school there and my grandparents live like two minutes away from the university. I know some of the players, (Bridgeport’s) Alexa Martin and (Hedgesville’s) Kelsea Vandine.
“It felt like home. I knew it from that point. I was obviously determined through the summer camps. I was so hungry to play there. I needed to focus more on getting a good education and teaching and not focusing on volleyball the rest of my life.”
Perkins, who plans to major in early age education, had a walk-on offer from West Liberty and a scholarship offer from Wesleyan, but couldn’t pass on FSU after taking her tour.
“I did all the things,” said Perkins, who helped PHS capture the Mountain State Athletic Conference championship for the second time in three seasons and was named the league’s Player of the Year.
“I went to the education building and saw where I was going to be staying at. Coach Hinkle told me about the team a little bit and I just fell in love with everything he was talking about. I just loved it and he took me into his room and he offered me and I verballed on the 27th (of July).”
Perkins collected five kills her senior season to go along with 52 aces. The 88% server also had 65 assists, 328 digs and nearly 500 serve-receptions at 91%.
“One thing I like about Fairmont, first of all, is their team. They are like a family,” Perkins added. “They do everything together. They are very tight-knit. I’m not even on the team yet and I feel so welcomed.
“They have team bonding and a team psychologist that comes in. The mental part of the game takes over the skill, and having someone there working with you through the team, I think is phenomenal.”
As far as being a student-athlete at the Division II level in the Mountain East Conference, Perkins said “I’m not worried about it at all. I take my school very seriously.”
Earning the MSAC POY award was a bit of a surprise for the Big Red.
“I am honestly speechless. I have been working since freshman year,” Perkins admitted. “To get kind of like a huge accomplishment like that, I don’t know, as a libero I think it’s very hard to get an award like that. It’s so difficult. It’s hard to show what you can do as a libero.
“I think my job is to make my setters look good and my hitters look good. It’s not to make me look good. There are other players on the team, too. I’m also proud of coach Erin (Thorpe). She got MSAC Coach of the Year and that’s a huge deal. I couldn’t be more grateful.”
A four-year letterwinner, Perkins helped the Big Reds qualify for the Class AAA state tournament thrice. PHS was ousted in the sectional this season and was banned due to Mountain State COVID-19 mandates in 2020.
“That freshman year for me was painful. I was so angry and so mad,” Perkins said of being allowed to purchase a ticket and watch the state tournament, but not compete with her team.
Now that one dream has started and ended, Perkins is ready for her next adventure.
As much as she’s looking forward to playing for the Fighting Falcons, PHS always will hold a special place in her heart.
“Honestly, what I will remember is just the pride in general,” Perkins said of playing alongside her teammates. “Ever since middle school it’s been my dream to be a Big Red libero. I remember in middle school I just wanted to be this great libero for coach Erin and show her and impress her.
“I think what I will miss most and think about most are all those memories I can connect knowing I was making her proud and making her team proud. I have so many memories. They are like a family to me. We took a trip to Orlando and those things are just unforgettable. They are just a family.”
Contact Jay Bennett at [email protected]
