FAYETTEVILLE — Rather than giving handshakes and high-fives, Fayetteville setter Aubrey Edie greets her teammates before every match with an elaborate series of slaps and forearms bumps.
From the moment she steps on the court, Edie goes from one teammate to the next, doing what appears to be a well-choreographed secret handshake. But no two handshakes are alike.
The sophomore has a different routine for each teammate.
“I kind of wanted to look cool when I was giving high-fives to everybody,” Edie said. “So I didn’t want to just give everybody (a) high-five, and then (the routine) has just become a natural thing.
“... It’s become superstitious after a while.”
PROFILE
Aubrey Edie
SCHOOL: Fayetteville
SPORT: Volleyball
CLASS: Sophomore
NOTABLE: Edie has recorded 523 of Fayetteville’s 649 assists on the season, and she ranks second on the team in digs (31) and fourth in kills (114). ... Edie has played for the Ozark Juniors club team since she was 10 years old. She’s already receiving interest from college programs, including Penn State, Arkansas and Nebraska.
Not much about Edie’s game appears as it seems.
Though lanky at 6 foot tall, the sophomore is deceptively strong and capable of hammering spikes. She has recorded 114 kills to go along with 523 assists, which accounts for 80.6 percent of Fayetteville’s assists on the season.
Despite being only 15 and in her first season with the Lady Bulldogs, Edie has already attracted the attention of some of college volleyball’s top programs — including two-time defending national champion Penn State.
And heading into this week’s Class 7A State Tournament at Bentonville, Fayetteville (30-3-3, 13-1 7A-West Conference) is the top seed, thanks in large part to its court-savvy setter.
“The other side of the net is not quite sure who she’s going to set,” Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said of Edie. “She does a good job of disguising that and mixing it up.”
Edie is no secret to Phelan, who has known about the rising star since Edie was an energetic child and Phelan took over as Fayetteville’s coach.
Edie began attending Bulldog volleyball camps when she 6 years old, after her mother — Huntsville volleyball coach Angie Baker — underwent back surgery. Edie kept coming back to the camp year after year, honing her passing skills along the way.
“They wanted to get me out of the house because I was really dependent on my mom then, so they just put me in this camp,” Edie said. “And I ended up loving it.”
As the No. 1 seed in the Class 7A State Tournament, the Lady Bulldogs received a first-round bye. They’ll face the winner of today’s North Little Rock-Fort Smith Northside match at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Tiger Arena.
Phelan said Edie has a unique combination of “good hands, good feet and a good head” as a setter. The sophomore is capable of chasing down balls, consistently setting her hitters up for kills and blocking shots at the net with her long arms.
“She’s much taller than your typical setter. She’s 6-foot tall and she’s a great blocker,” Phelan said. “And so for a college team to be able to have a kid that size to put up that kind of block at the next level, it’s something that’s obviously very appealing.”
Edie admitted she’s a bit reluctant to talk about all the attention she’s already garnering from colleges, including Arkansas, Nebraska, Illinois and Texas Tech.
College coaches can’t offer Edie a scholarship until her junior year, but she should have plenty of options when the time comes. After all, coaches from Penn State — which has won three consecutive volleyball national championships — were regulars at her matches last season.
“I’m flattered that they’re all interested in me,” Edie said. “And it’s kind of weird talking to other people about it because I don’t want to be like I flaunt it around and everything.”
She’ll shake on that.