According to the national statistics of the 2021 volleyball season, the Digs Per Set leader in all of NCAA Division III came from right here at Waynesburg University.

Senior libero Alyson Johnson, who led the country at 6.59 digs per set, was officially named the Divisional III statistical champion on Monday, Jan. 31.

“It’s been rewarding to see that I go in and I work really hard in practice and games, and now things [came] out of it that I never thought would come out of it,” Johnson said.

From an eighth grader who joined the volleyball team because of a friend to being a national standout in her senior collegiate season, Johnson’s hard work has been highly commemorated and recognized around campus.

“It just makes me really proud, but I don’t think it speaks to me and my coaching,” head coach Emily Taylor said. “I think it speaks to Alyson and her as a person.”

Johnson accumulated 581 total digs through 89 sets in 2021, which was good for first place in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) volleyball statistics.

Johnson also eclipsed the 1,000 dig mark against Grove City on Sept. 28, 2021, which is a Waynesburg and PAC record.

Earlier in her collegiate career, Johnson had contemplated stepping away from volleyball.

In the end, however, she is extremely grateful that she never did.

“It’s a good life lesson,” Johnson said. “You can’t just give up when things aren’t going your way.”

Johnson will be missed by her teammates, but Taylor is excited to see what the future has in store for her libero.

“I think she’s going to crush it as an athletic trainer,” Taylor said.