By Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
Prattville Christian Academy’s Natalee Wheeler was named Class 3A 1st Team All-State by the Alabama High School Volleyball Coaches Association as a junior in 2023. The year before she was on the Panthers’ state championship team. She cites the match to win the state championship as her favorite memory playing for PCA.
“Words can’t even describe how good it feels to work hard all season and then stepping on that court knowing you have one more game to finish the job you’ve worked so hard for. That day was filled with so much excitement because when we stepped on the court with our parents and school watching us, feeling the support, we all were smiling and looking at each other because we knew we were going to win. We came out with confidence, and we knew what we had to do and we did just that. When I passed the last ball and then Baylee Rogers set it to our former outside Hannah Jones who caught our opponent off guard and rolled the ball, watching that ball hit the floor it felt like time stood still and I can still see the picture of us all celebrating because we just won our very first state championship for volleyball.”
After winning the 3A state championship in 2022, the Panthers’ season ended in the Elite 8 in 2023. Wheeler wants another chance at experiencing the feeling of winning a state championship, so the team has set goals, and she has individual goals, to accomplish that.
“Our team goal is to redeem ourselves from last year and win State again. We want our title back. Last year we lost against Geraldine in the Elite Eight when we shouldn’t have. We have many tall and good hitters and our defense is great. We really have a great shot at winning this year. Individually, my goal is to be a team leader and to encourage my teammates. I would love to get to 1,000 digs before the season ends.”
In preparation for her senior season and recapturing the 3A state title, Wheeler has put in extra practice time.
“After coming off a spring surgery, I knew I needed to put in a lot of work over the summer. I kept a steady schedule training with coaches doing private individual lessons, attended summer workouts and practices, and went to the gym on my own. I spent many evenings in PCA’s gym working on serve receive and digging balls from our former player, D1 athlete, Hannah Jones. I participated in Summer College Showcases in Foley and Birmingham. I also attended Elite Camps at UNA, UWG, USA, Alabama, and UTC.”
Wheeler started playing volleyball at the YMCA when she was 9 years old, and her mom was coaching. It quickly became her favorite activity.
“The energy in this sport is unlike any other sport. It’s such a selfless game because it’s not just one person who’s trying to score a point, it involves the whole team. The whole team gets so excited when your teammate gets a great kill, dig or even a great set.”
Heading into her senior season, Wheeler had 634 digs, 85 assists, 8 kills, and 125 aces.
Wheeler started her senior season by helping PCA win the Panther Classic Varsity Volleyball Tournament with wins over Chilton County, Demopolis, Orange Beach, Brew Tech, and Pike Road.
She plans to continue playing volleyball in college and hopes to go on college visits in the near future.
