Senior Laurun Hall, a former walk-on to GSU’s volleyball team, was always into sports as a kid.
Hall has been around sports her whole life just being involved with cheerleading.
She started playing sports at her middle school.
She cheered for football and basketball games in school.
Hall and her family moved to Hammond, Ind. from Chicago when she was young so she could live a better life and not be distracted.
“With the crime rate rising I had to be moved out of the city of Chicago,” Hall said.
As a little girl, she didn't know what was going on at the time but she was being given a better situation in life.
Hammond wasn't the same as Chicago – it was city-like but slower than Chicago. The people were less rude and more welcoming.
As she grew up in Hammond she met many friends and started making a name for herself in the sporting world.
“I did cheerleading, played volleyball, and basketball,” she said. “I also ran track and field but my first love was volleyball. I love volleyball more than any sport.”
Hall felt playing both sports at a high level and was well prepared to play
them in high school.
“Once I headed to high school I found a deeper connection playing volleyball. I worked extremely hard to be the best I could be on the court,” she said.
Her hard work was paying off as she was able to play most positions despite her height differences.
She uses the phrase “Heart of Height” to describe her stature and style of play.
“With me being one of the shortest on all volleyball teams,” she said.
Like many athletes she wanted a chance at the college level.
However, she felt like the high school she attended for three years lacked the coaching to get her to the next level.
“I transferred school hoping I got a better shot at playing in college,” she said. “I didn’t get the scholarship I wanted to get but I felt I was good enough to walk on to the Grambling State university girls volleyball team and make the team.”
Hall knew she was going to have to work harder than she ever did to stay on the team. Freshman year was just the beginning and she knew her playing time was going to be limited.
“I felt like I would and should be playing more with the time and effort she put into the game and practice,” Hall said.
Plus she didn’t want her hard work overlooked on the court like the years before.
While Hall met her goal of becoming a Division I volleyball player, she recently quit the team.
She felt her time was being wasted so she knew her junior year she wasn’t coming back to play.
“I was thinking about coming back but Covid was here,” she stated.
Hall said the situation made her reconsider her volleyball career.
“I decided to sit my last year out and have as much fun as possible with my amazing school,” she said.
