LEE COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - This high school junior at Lee County has had to step up to lead her team. That effort has earned Annie Liston the title of VSU Scholar Athlete.

Liston is a member of Lee County’s varsity volleyball team. She has near-perfect grades and works just as hard off the court as she does on the court. With last year being Liston’s first year on varsity, adjusting to the workload took some time, but now she’s got the hang of things.

“I just stayed on top of my school work, and my teachers were great,” Liston said. “They never gave me a hard time when I missed four games. But when I did miss, I would do homework on the bus so that I didn’t have any missing assignments or anything.”

This season is a rebuilding year for the Lady Trojans. With a new head coach and Liston being just one of two returners to the varsity squad, the team is young and constantly looks to her for guidance.

“[Liston] is just a voice on the court. She’s a beast on the court,” Head Coach Anna Harrell said. “She helps them not just with their skills, but emotionally. She’s always there for them. I see girls going over to her all the time, talking about personal things, court things... So, it’s good when I don’t have 20 girls coming to me for help. They kind of go to her and ask for her assistance on a lot of things too.”

Ideally, Liston said she pictures herself playing volleyball at the collegiate level, but if that doesn’t work out, she said she has dreams of becoming a pre-K teacher or a pediatric nurse. She said she plans to study at Georgia Southern University.

“I’ve always kind of wanted to go to Georgia Southern and be in a sorority,” Liston said. “I really want to be an ADPi. My mom did that, so I’ve always wanted to do it too.”

Liston said she’s grateful for her family’s continuous support. Athletics must run in her family because Liston credits her sister as her motivation to achieve big things.

“My sister is my biggest inspiration, probably because she’s worked since she was in fifth grade to be a D1 swimmer,” Liston explained. “It’s been hard on her with school and swim, and she’s a scholar athlete too… She’s just pushed through everything, and she finally got to go D1, so that was a big deal for her.”

Congrats to Annie Liston on being named this week’s VSU Scholar Athlete!

If you have an outstanding student-athlete you’d like to nominate, click here.

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