Warner Comfortable Heading into Second Season at K-State
Aug 19, 2022 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
This is a story about the right fit. For most of her life, volleyball fit Haley Warner like that warm fuzzy slipper that gets better with age. But there was a time not too long ago when Warner found herself in hot and humid Florida, yet she was stuck on the proverbial cold floor. She couldn't get her slipper to fit.
When she visited a cold Kansas State campus in January 2021, she found that familiar warmth all over again.
It's a wonderful story, really. Warner was on absolute fire in high school. Four-time All-American. 2014 Gatorade Arkansas Player of the Year. 2016 Wendy's Arkansas Player of the Year. She was a member of the USA Volleyball program in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Why, she was even featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in January 2017 during her senior season at Fayetteville (Arkansas) High School.
"It was amazing," she says. "It was really awesome to be highlighted like that."
She was highly recruited. Kansas State recruited her out of high school, but like so many other schools, didn't get too far. No, she aspired to play for the tradition-rich Florida Gators. She wanted to "go big." That's when her feet landed on the cold floor. The highlights were seldom, as was her playing time on the court. Her freshman, sophomore and junior seasons seemed like a blur and the longest three years of her life all at the same time. She was cold, so cold, in Gainesville, Florida. And there was seemingly no warmth in sight.
Warner's first love was basketball. She began playing basketball as soon as she could walk. Everybody in her family had played basketball. Nobody had ever played volleyball. She picked up a volleyball at age 9. Two years later, she put the basketball down for good. Volleyball became her love.
But what happens when your love isn't your love anymore? That was the dark quandary that faced Warner as she sat the bench in Gainesville. She played in just 33 matches in three seasons. A parade of troubled thoughts danced inside her head. She thought she was no good. She thought there was no end in sight.
"It wasn't a good fit," she says. "But I'm so glad that happened to me because now I'm here."
Yes, she's here. She's sitting on a cushy black courtside seat at Bramlage Coliseum after practice on Thursday. She's smiling. She's having the time of her life. Her biggest thrill? There's no match, no play, nothing in particular — it's just being here and living in the moment with her teammates and playing volleyball and being grateful for every moment.
"I'm on the court, and it's like, 'Is this real? And I actually doing this?'"
Yes, she's doing this, and she made an instant impact last season and helped K-State to a NCAA Volleyball Tournament berth and win or lose this is a happy story in her mind because she's not worried about the past or fretting the future, but she's living in the present, she's in that familiar slipper again after a few years of being on the cold floor.
K-State head coach Suzie Fritz felt an instant connection when Warner and her mother visited the cold K-State campus that day in January 2021 after Warner entered the transfer portal. Warner had stuck it out and stuck it out and stuck it out and was finally willing to let it go — no small victory. Fritz felt like she could help her. She certainly felt like Warner could help the K-State volleyball program.
"It felt right," Fritz says. "It felt good. Sometimes fit is what you're looking for."
Warner nods when telling the story.
"I thank myself every day and thank K-State for giving me the opportunity to be here," she says. "I never thought I'd be in the state of Kansas. I immediately fell in love with K-State and the coaching staff, and the girls are amazing. I haven't had to try hard to fit in. They welcome you with everything they have."
Warner appeared in 27 matches with 25 starts and played in 95 sets in her first season at K-State. She ranked second on the team with 233 kills and hit .227. She was third on the team with 78 total blocks with 0.82 blocks per set. She added 46 digs and four assists. She reached double-digit kills nine times.
And now?
"This is literally my last year," she says. "I do feel a huge sense of urgency. I want to be the best I can be. I like to say this is the last one, the best one. This is going to be the best season of my life and I'm super excited for it."
A three-time SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll Student, Warner was also named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll this past spring. She graduated with a degree in Educational Studies. She just began working toward her Master's in Academic Advising.
Meanwhile, on the court, Fritz senses composure as Warner embarks upon her second and final season as a Wildcat.
"She knows who she is, and she knows how she needs to play, and she knows what to do," Fritz says. "She seems more comfortable."
It's as if Warner has slid into that warm fuzzy slipper. There are no more cold floors. Only warmth.
"I can't help but love it," she says. "It's taught me to love other things as well and love my teammates, my coaches, and love myself, too. It's a huge, huge love in my life."
It's the perfect fit.
This is a story about the right fit. For most of her life, volleyball fit Haley Warner like that warm fuzzy slipper that gets better with age. But there was a time not too long ago when Warner found herself in hot and humid Florida, yet she was stuck on the proverbial cold floor. She couldn't get her slipper to fit.
When she visited a cold Kansas State campus in January 2021, she found that familiar warmth all over again.
It's a wonderful story, really. Warner was on absolute fire in high school. Four-time All-American. 2014 Gatorade Arkansas Player of the Year. 2016 Wendy's Arkansas Player of the Year. She was a member of the USA Volleyball program in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Why, she was even featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in January 2017 during her senior season at Fayetteville (Arkansas) High School.
"It was amazing," she says. "It was really awesome to be highlighted like that."
She was highly recruited. Kansas State recruited her out of high school, but like so many other schools, didn't get too far. No, she aspired to play for the tradition-rich Florida Gators. She wanted to "go big." That's when her feet landed on the cold floor. The highlights were seldom, as was her playing time on the court. Her freshman, sophomore and junior seasons seemed like a blur and the longest three years of her life all at the same time. She was cold, so cold, in Gainesville, Florida. And there was seemingly no warmth in sight.
Warner's first love was basketball. She began playing basketball as soon as she could walk. Everybody in her family had played basketball. Nobody had ever played volleyball. She picked up a volleyball at age 9. Two years later, she put the basketball down for good. Volleyball became her love.
But what happens when your love isn't your love anymore? That was the dark quandary that faced Warner as she sat the bench in Gainesville. She played in just 33 matches in three seasons. A parade of troubled thoughts danced inside her head. She thought she was no good. She thought there was no end in sight.
"It wasn't a good fit," she says. "But I'm so glad that happened to me because now I'm here."
Yes, she's here. She's sitting on a cushy black courtside seat at Bramlage Coliseum after practice on Thursday. She's smiling. She's having the time of her life. Her biggest thrill? There's no match, no play, nothing in particular — it's just being here and living in the moment with her teammates and playing volleyball and being grateful for every moment.
"I'm on the court, and it's like, 'Is this real? And I actually doing this?'"
Yes, she's doing this, and she made an instant impact last season and helped K-State to a NCAA Volleyball Tournament berth and win or lose this is a happy story in her mind because she's not worried about the past or fretting the future, but she's living in the present, she's in that familiar slipper again after a few years of being on the cold floor.
K-State head coach Suzie Fritz felt an instant connection when Warner and her mother visited the cold K-State campus that day in January 2021 after Warner entered the transfer portal. Warner had stuck it out and stuck it out and stuck it out and was finally willing to let it go — no small victory. Fritz felt like she could help her. She certainly felt like Warner could help the K-State volleyball program.
"It felt right," Fritz says. "It felt good. Sometimes fit is what you're looking for."
Warner nods when telling the story.
"I thank myself every day and thank K-State for giving me the opportunity to be here," she says. "I never thought I'd be in the state of Kansas. I immediately fell in love with K-State and the coaching staff, and the girls are amazing. I haven't had to try hard to fit in. They welcome you with everything they have."
Warner appeared in 27 matches with 25 starts and played in 95 sets in her first season at K-State. She ranked second on the team with 233 kills and hit .227. She was third on the team with 78 total blocks with 0.82 blocks per set. She added 46 digs and four assists. She reached double-digit kills nine times.
And now?
"This is literally my last year," she says. "I do feel a huge sense of urgency. I want to be the best I can be. I like to say this is the last one, the best one. This is going to be the best season of my life and I'm super excited for it."
A three-time SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll Student, Warner was also named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll this past spring. She graduated with a degree in Educational Studies. She just began working toward her Master's in Academic Advising.
Meanwhile, on the court, Fritz senses composure as Warner embarks upon her second and final season as a Wildcat.
"She knows who she is, and she knows how she needs to play, and she knows what to do," Fritz says. "She seems more comfortable."
It's as if Warner has slid into that warm fuzzy slipper. There are no more cold floors. Only warmth.
"I can't help but love it," she says. "It's taught me to love other things as well and love my teammates, my coaches, and love myself, too. It's a huge, huge love in my life."
It's the perfect fit.
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