The life of a high schooler is hard. Students constantly feel the pressure of schoolwork, upholding friendships, and when it becomes time, applying to college. For Cloquet’s Ava Carlson, there was one more stressor on her mind before she became the first volleyball player in Cloquet’s program history to record 1,000 kills.

“I was a little nervous leading up to it and everyone knew it was going to happen,” said Carlson. “But in the end, I’m just like excited that’s done for and I can just play volleyball with my teammates and not have to worry about that. I’m super grateful that I was able to accomplish it, but I’m kind of glad that I can move on and finish the rest of the season.”

Long before stepping foot on the court for Cloquet, Carlson watched Kassidy Steen, a former Cloquet volleyball star light up the court for the Lumberjacks. Now, she’s the star that other young players are watching.

“I know there’s a lot of younger girls that look up to me and I really enjoy all the compliments they gave me. It really gives me more inspiration and confidence in myself too.”

Last week, Carlson needed 24 kills to reach the 1,0000 mark against Proctor. She had 23.

“The whole gym was on pins and needles and we just fell one short,” said head volleyball coach Heidi Anderson. “So it was kind of fun to get to draw something up a bit for sure.”

On the first play of the game, Carlson was served up a ball that was crushed just seconds later for her 1,000th kill. Though it was a personal achievement, it was a team wide celebration.
 
“They like to celebrate each other, too, whether it’s one point or a thousand,” said Anderson. “They’re there for each other.”

Carlson is undecided on what her future will be after graduation, but hopes there will be more volleyball to play.