Photo by Aaron Cranford of The Battalion

Lake Highlands High grad Tori Mellinger is on the front page of the Aggie newspaper this morning, profiled in a story about her rise to star status on the Texas A&M volleyball team. The article, entitled “The hard way,” notes that Tori first joined the team as a walk-on. Today, she’s a scholarship player and senior co-captain.

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After a stellar career leading her Wildcats to the 5A regional semifinals, Tori had offers from several schools, but she knew she wanted to play for the Aggies. She took a risk walking on to a team with no scholarship to give her and no guarantee that she’d play.

The autumn leaves hadn’t even begun changing color in Aggieland her freshman year before she became a pivotal part of the starting rotation. She’s been a starter ever since, traveling across the country with the team and appearing in nationally televised matches.

You can read the entire article in The Battalion here.