Lightfoot Goes From First Point To Record Books
November 9, 2006

Four years ago, Jessica Lightfoot took the court as a college freshman for the first time in Abilene against McMurry, in the first game ever played by The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball team.

“I remember, it was actually a scary game,” Lightfoot says, laughing. “They had some big players. One of them actually spiked the ball in my face. I was so nervous, I was standing straight up when I shouldn’t have been. The crowd really got onto me, too.”

The 5’10 senior scored the first point in Patriots history that night.

“I think everybody was nervous, but also excited at the same time since it was our first game, and also UT Tyler’s first game ever.”

Lightfoot moved from Desert Mountain high school in Scottsdale, Arizona to attend the University of Texas at Tyler, and immediately became the center of the Patriots offense. She led the team in their inaugural season with 313 kills that year and 1000 attacks. Her freshman campaign set the tone for her career, as Lightfoot scored in double-figures in kills in seventeen of her first twenty-seven matches.

Lightfoot would go on to lead the Patriots in kills and attacks every year. After four seasons, Lightfoot not only closes out her career holding numerous records, her senior year she became the first Patriot ever to be chosen for the American Southwest Conference All-Conference Team. Head Coach Kristee Turpin says she had a great senior season.

“Jessica just dominated for us this year,” Turpin said. “She’s really become a go-to player.”

Turpin says that Lightfoot’s maturation taught her patience, and made her even more dangerous on the court.

“I know last year we would struggle with her errors, but this season when she had an error, she got rid of it. She’s stepped up in ball control, and serve-receive, and has become a great digger for us. Plus, she’s just putting the ball down every chance she gets, and has become more of a finesse player.”

“She’s a lot of fun to watch.”

Lightfoot also holds the all-time single game mark, set against Sul Ross in this year’s ASC Crossover tournament. Playing at home, Lightfoot dropped 28 kills on Sul Ross State in a five-game match.

“Oh my gosh, it was the best feeling,” an excited Lightfoot recalls. “I didn’t know I had done it until Amanda (Gadison, assistant coach) came over and asked me if I knew how many kills I had. I couldn’t believe it.”

When she realized she had set not only a personal record but an all-time UT Tyler mark, Lightfoot’s first thoughts were of her teammates and family.

“I went over to Cidney (setter Cidney Legg) and said, ‘do you know what you did for me?’ She didn’t realize, either. It was really an amazing feeling.”

Lightfoot’s mom and dad, Sharon and Alan, were in Tyler for senior day and were amazed by Jessi’s performance.

“It was unbelievable,” Sharon Lightfoot said. “Usually when my husband comes, for one reason or another things don’t go well. He came and actually got to see her play the way she can really play.”

“I just kept saying ‘this is her game,’ and when she said afterwards that she had 28 kills, I almost fell over!”
 
“It meant a lot to me,” Jessi said, “since my dad didn’t get to see a lot of my games, and didn’t get to see many my senior year of high school.”

“They just kept telling me how proud they were.”

Lightfoot was born in Dallas and grew up in Austin, but the Texas girl moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, in junior high when her dad was transferred. His job sent him back to Austin her senior year, and when it came time for her to decide where to attend college, the new program at UT Tyler offered her everything she was looking for.

“I did look at a couple of other schools, but the location is one of the things that got me. It was really pretty, there’s huge trees, and greenery everywhere, and I wasn’t used to that after spending so much time in Arizona.”

“It was just so pretty, and they had just built new facilities. It was a first-year program, and I knew that I could be a part of something new.”

“The academics were off the charts. When I found out how much we had moved up in the academic rankings, I had to call my mom. It was amazing that my school is one of the top in the nation.”

“I had visited a few campuses, but when I came to UT Tyler, I just knew it was the one.”

After her four seasons as a Patriot, Lightfoot says her coach has this year’s playoff-caliber team poised for more success in 2007 and beyond.

“When Turpin came, our program dramatically changed. She has the volleyball smarts to get what she wants out of a team. Everything is really disciplined, and in synch. Everybody started listening to each other, because we learned to work as a team and not just individuals.”

When asked about highlights from her career, Lightfoot immediately thought of last season’s four-game win at home over previously unbeaten Austin College.

“Oh, our game against Austin College,” she laughs, “People were still talking about that a week later. They were ranked (#20) in the country, and undefeated at the time. We might be a smaller school, but to beat somebody that everybody thought was that great was really cool.”

Lightfoot had 19 kills that night, and points to it as a statement game for the Patriots.

“We really made a name for ourselves as a team, and as a program with that game.”

An elementary education major, Lightfoot will graduate from UT Tyler in December of 2007, and hopes to return to Arizona as an elementary school teacher and high school volleyball coach after that.

As for next season, she’ll still be around UT Tyler while she finishes her degree. And Lightfoot promises she’ll be around on game days for her Patriots, too.

“Oh, I’ll be at the games,” the original Patriot laughs. “I wouldn’t miss them.”

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