Transferring into a new program is never easy, but if you were to watch Doris Carter around the Alabama volleyball team, you would never know that Aug. 25 was her first game in an Crimson Tide uniform.
During warmups, Carter talks with multiple teammates, laughing and just having fun, but after the starters break from pre-match huddle, she locks into the game.
“My biggest enemy is myself, so when I’m having fun I play a lot better,” Carter said. “I can’t stay in my own head. My teammates make sure that I’m always laughing. There’s always a joke being told. It’s a fun game. It’s hard to have fun in college, but this is a fun team.”
Coming out of high school, Carter wanted to get out of her home state of Kentucky and go to either the east or west coast. She chose the University of South Florida. There, she led the Bulls with 255 kills and was second among American Conference freshman with 2.71 kills per set.
At the end of the season, she decided to reopen her recruitment and transfer. Coach Ed Allen was one of the first people to reach out to her.
“She’s an extremely athletic kid,” Allen said. “She’s very twitchy, so she gets off the ground quick. She has the ability to get to more balls with her feet because of her quickness. She’s and extremely aggressive player both offensively and defensively. She just brings a strong competitive spirit.”
Allen also said Carter, alongside Meghan Neelon and Kaylee Thomas, will do just about anything to win and help elevate the other players on the court and the roster.
“It means the world to hear him say that about me,” Carter said. “I worked really hard to get here and I love this team. We have an amazing group of girls on this team.”
Just 10 games into her Alabama career, Carter is off to a great start. She leads the team with 138 points, is just two kills behind Ginger Perinar for the team lead with 122 and is fourth on the team with 21 blocks.
“She’s just tough,” Allen said. “Her personality is very much tough. She’s the kind of kid that is probably not going to run from many challenges, and I think that’s probably what makes her special, especially when matches get tight. She’s a kid that really enjoys that moment maybe more than other kids do.”
Alabama (10-0) looks to stay undefeated in the Crimson-White tournament. It takes on South Alabama in the first game at 10 a.m.. The Jaguars (5-5) are riding a four-game win streak into Tuscaloosa.
The big match of the tournament is 7 p.m. Friday night when No. 25 Alabama clashes with No. 15 Purdue (8-0). Alabama finishes the tournament with Southern Miss (5-5) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
