SPRINGDALE -- The past two weeks have seen a lot of firsts for Shiloh Christian senior Reagan Robinson.
On Oct. 31, she led the Lady Saints to the Class 4A volleyball state championship in Hot Springs, the school's first volleyball state title.
On Wednesday, Robinson, a 6-foot outside hitter, also became the first Shiloh Christian volleyball player to sign a Division I scholarship, signing with Arkansas.
Although volleyball was the sport she ultimately gravitated to, initially Robinson wanted to follow in her father's footsteps as a college tennis player.
"When I was younger I wanted to be a tennis player, but I quit that," she said. "I've always wanted to go to Arkansas. I started playing volleyball in seventh grade, and ever since then, I wanted to play college volleyball.
"When I was younger I went to the college football games at Arkansas here, so it just felt like home."
Robinson's older sister, Rylee, is a member of the Arkansas women's track team as a pole vaulter, and her younger brother, Kyle, has verbally committed to the Arkansas men's golf program.
She was also offered by a number of Division II programs, but Arkansas was where her heart was.
"I was just focused on going to Arkansas," she said.
Robinson was among the most dominant players in the state at any level this past season. She recorded 452 kills, 77 aces, 32 total blocks, 393 digs, 398 successful serve receives and had a .369 hitting percentage.
At Arkansas, Robinson will likely move from being a hitter to a passer, she said.
Shiloh Christian coach Nathan Bodenstein said Robinson's signing represented "a big day for our program."
"This has been a special two weeks for us," Bodenstein said. "More so than just today. We had a great pep rally last week and our volleyball banquet Monday night, and now Reagan signing today, it's just been a great end of the year for these seniors, but especially for Reagan. This is just very special for our program."
Bodenstein took over the Lady Saints program last season and knew he had a special player in Robinson.
"Obviously it is always a coach's dream to coach a player like Reagan," he said. "Not many of those types of players come around very often at any school. Even when I was at Bentonville, we had some Gatorade Players of the Year, and Reagan is that caliber of player."
Bodenstein said Robinson will leave a legacy at Shiloh Christian that underclassmen can emulate, especially her work ethic.
"She makes it look easy, but she's really worked hard to be as good as she is," he said. "And I think that's what's going to make her successful at Arkansas."
Sports on 11/12/2015