When UMBC head coach Ian Blanchard first watched Kristin Watson play volleyball, he was struck by her energy and ability to cover the court.
"I was at a tournament in Virginia, and she was playing on the 'B' squad of a club team," Blanchard said. "I thought she had a lot of potential."
Watson had already applied to UMBC but wasn't sure whether she was going to get the chance to play collegiate volleyball.
"I wanted to play but wasn't heavily recruited," said Watson, a native of Bowie, Md., and graduate of Eleanor Roosevelt High School. "But [the UMBC coaches] liked how I pursued the ball. They gave me the opportunity, and everything fell into place."
