Jessica Sanborn Mead Year: Senior Sport: Volleyball Position: Outside Hitter

It’s only natural that when Jessica Sanborn of Mead rotates into the back row during a volleyball match the Panthers’ offense drops off a little bit.

After all, it would be hard to expect anyone to hit with the power or block with the consistency of the 6-foot-3 senior.

What isn’t natural is that often the Panthers get better when Sanborn gets to the back because the soon-to-be Division I college player considers passing her strength.

“You don’t see a lot of 6-3 people in the back row, that’s probably why I like it,” Sanborn said. “I worked hard at it. I was uncoordinated, now it comes pretty natural.

“In my opinion, if you’re going to be on the court, you should have all the skills.”

Sanborn certainly does, leading Mead, third in the Greater Spokane League, to the regional title and a berth in the State AAA tournament beginning Friday at the Arena.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “We’re coming through. We’ve improved a lot.”

Soon she’ll have another reason to be excited. She has taken recruiting trips to UCLA, Michigan State, Texas and Oregon State. She has had to postpone a trip to highly-ranked Long Beach State because of the Panthers’ success and she plans an unofficial visit to Washington State. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo