Wearing a different color shirt from the rest of her team isn’t the only reason Michelle Hundt stands out on the volleyball court. Hundt, St. Edward’s libero, ranks fourth in the nation with 6.34 digs per set and is the heart of the Hilltopper defense.

The libero is a defensive-only position where the player wears a different color jersey and only rotates in and out of the back row. All of the other players can rotate anywhere on the court.

Hundt won five Conference Player of the Week awards during the regular season, and she earned further accolades after the Hilltopper’s season finale, a competitive five set loss against Angelo State. Hundt was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association First Team All-South Central Region and also received a Division II Honorable Mention All-America: an award her parents are very proud of.

“My dad was going crazy,” Hundt said.

Hundt, one of the team captains, doesn’t rack up points with spikes or setting for her teammates. Instead, her priority lies in the back corners of the court.

“I have to reach corner balls; it’s my job,” Hundt said.

This season, St. Edward’s volleyball acheived success that has been elusive for the past five years. Hundt’s defesnse was an integral part of that success.

“Her consistency and defense helped the team,” Coach Sean Donahue said. “She has great leadership skills. That’s why she’s captain.

Hundt attributes the team’s accomplishments this year to a change of goals. In previous years, the volleyball team’s seasonal goal was to win the conference championship, but his year they decided to do things differently.

“We decided to strive to end regular season play as a top seven team in the region,” Hundt said. The team did not win the conference tournament, but did earn that top seven regional finish and an automatic bid into the Heartland Conference Tournament.

A naturally humble person, Hundt doesn’t think herself as much of a leader, but teammate and roommate Laura Colley disagrees. “Michelle leads by example,” Colley said.

Off the court, Hundt majors in biochemistry and is a self-proclaimed nerd.

“I love Harry Potter. I’ve read all the books and own all the movies,” Hundt said.

Volleyball isn’t the only game Hundt excels at either. “I beat Harry Potter books one through four on my Nintendo DS. I can’t wait to get books five through seven.”