—Photo by Tyler Anderson/The Graphic-Advocate SOUTH CENTRAL Calhoun’s Emma McKinney delivers a return recently. McKinney has over 1,000 career kills and is closing in on 1,000 career assists.

LAKE CITY — Emma McKinney finds herself on the cusp of making history at South Central Calhoun.

The Titan senior surpassed the 1,000 career kill mark last month, and with the start of the Twin Lakes Conference Tournament set for Tuesday, McKinney can inch closer to another milestone number.

South Central Calhoun (24-12 overall) is the No. 3 seed in the TLC tourney and will host West Bend-Mallard and Alta/Aurelia here with the first and second place teams advancing to Thursday’s bracket round in Laurens.

McKinney has recorded 1,090 career kills and is sitting at 963 assists. She also has 200 career aces and 81 blocks as a four-year starter for the Titans.

“Getting 1,000 career kills was a huge accomplishment and such an awesome moment,” McKinney said. “I had my 1,000th kill at the Emmetsburg game and all my teammates had huge signs and balloons for me.

“It was so awesome to reach my goal, but now I have another one in mind. I don’t want to settle for ‘almost’ 1,000 assists, I really want to get there.”

In 36 matches, McKinney has 305 kills, 412 assists, 54 aces and 19 blocks this season. She had 509 assists last year, 33 as a sophomore and nine as a freshman.

Her high-water mark for kills came as a sophomore with 381, adding 224 last season and 180 as a ninth-grader.

“Being a freshman, I wasn’t really looked at a lot on the court to be the ‘go-to’ hitter,” McKinney said. “But over the years, I’ve had to train and work hard to be able to get those kills for my team.”

Like many of her teammates, McKinney is a multi-sport athlete for South Central Calhoun, as she’ll pick up a basketball in the winter and compete in track in the spring.

“Being a multi-sport athlete is awesome,” she said. “It allows me to get a break from one sport and kind of do something else for a change.

“Even though I love volleyball, it can be hard to constantly be doing the same thing every day. So, it’s good for me to be involved in basketball and track too. I’ve been doing al three sports my entire high school career and I’m glad.

“I think playing these sports has helped me become a better volleyball player because of the different skills I’ve learned.”

McKinney has not made a decision as far as her future and college goes but said “I’m open to any school at the moment.”

Meister sets record

Bishop Garrigan’s Madison Meister has her name in the school record books as the career leader in digs.

Meister surpassed 1,185 earlier this year, setting a new mark for the school. She currently has 1,336 digs in her four-year career with the Golden Bears.

On the season, Meister has 410 digs, which leads all of Class 1A and ranks third in the state.

Bishop Garrigan faces Humboldt later this week before beginning regional play.