Every person takes a different path to the place they want to be. For some people, it’s a quick journey, while for others it’s a little longer. 

For New Trier graduate and Clemson University setter Caroline Pearson, it was more of the latter, but she’s found a place where she’s happy and thriving.

After graduating from New Trier in 2015, Pearson took her talents to the University of Denver before transferring after a year to Arizona State University. After a year at Arizona State, Pearson decided to transfer to Clemson for her junior season, the 2017 season. Pearson said that both transfers had to do with coaches at those schools leaving.

“I decided to find a program that I was really passionate about and wanted to stay in for my last two years of college,” Pearson said. “That led me to Michaela Franklin in Clemson. That was probably the best decision and best transfer I made.

“It was a place that really felt like home. I knew from my time visiting it was where I wanted to be for my junior and senior season. Closer to home, it was just an overall great decision. Throughout every school, the volleyball and all the programs, I can’t complain. I was very lucky to be able to play for three amazing schools and continue my education and just grow as a person.”

 

For volleyball teams, there are a myriad of options of offenses to run. A 5-1 offense, which features one setter and five attackers; a 6-2 offense, which features six hitters and two setters, with one coming out of the back row to set while the other plays the front row and hits; a fast-tempo-offense and a slow-tempo offense. Many teams run a fast-tempo offense, as a slow-tempo offense often happens when a pass causes the team to go out-of-system and sends high balls to the outside hitters.

According to Pearson, this will be the fastest they’ve run an offense and will try to get their middle hitters involved across all zones. 

Running this type of offense isn’t something she’s always been accustomed to.

“I think it’s different expectations, different play calls. Just different offense,” she said. “I would say my first semester here was tough, adjustments were tough. Preseason was actually the time when we dove into it and really started to hammer out the details and the exact tempo and the footwork and all that. It does take time. You don’t become perfect at anything overnight. I think having the team I do around me, and the coaching staff, the time it took me to get it,”

The Tigers will be looking to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2009 and return a healthy number of players from last season. In addition to the returnees, Clemson welcomes a recruiting class that was in Prepvolleyball.com’s High Honorable Mention’s rankings, ranking just outside of the top 30 classes in the country. 

Pearson, as the lone senior on the squad this year, knows that the team will look for her to leadership, especially from the setter position.

“I think the main thing, especially being a setter, is being very level headed, being very calm in tight situations,” Pearson said. “Being very calm in amazing situations. I think that the steady emotion from a setter is key, and that’s exactly what I’m trying to bring to this team. 

“We have two awesome captains, and we call them CEOs, that bring the energy, that bring the firepower, that bring the passion. I think my job, or the role I’m taking, is to be that silent leader, the level-headed, calm, and always in control type of leader.”

Pearson, who is a sports communications major, hopes to play professionally once she graduates but if the opportunity doesn’t arise, she has other plans in mind.

“If that works out, I’d be unbelievably grateful. But if it doesn’t, that’s okay too. My other plan is to be a sports broadcaster. I’m super passionate about sports and athletics. I could really see myself succeeding in that field.”

But before any of that happens, she hopes to lead her team to the post season and has a warning to not noly the Atlantic Coast Conference, but other opponents as well.

“Just watch out, we’re coming.”