WSU volleyball’s Hailey Bethune has overcome a myriad of obstacles in order to reach the level of production she achieves today.

The senior outside hitter was successful in high school, collecting accolades such as two league MVPs in 2010 and 2012, two Stockton All-Area first team selections in her sophomore and junior seasons and a Player of the Year award her senior season.

This season, Bethune has excelled on the court, racking up tournament accolades. Finding herself as high as fourth in the nation in hitting percentage, Bethune has also been awarded all-tournament team honors and MVP honors at the Purdue Mortarboard Invitational and the Cougar Challenge tournament respectively.

“I had felt my game shift during the spring and the practices we had,” Bethune said, “and just finally being able to put it into competition and seeing how it matches up against other teams is really exciting and I’m happy for myself and the team.”

Volleyball Head Coach Jen Greeny brought Bethune in as a member of the 14th ranked 2013 recruiting class, and has been able to watch Bethune’s journey so far.

“I’m so proud of her,” Greeny said after the Cougar Challenge “It’s been a long journey for her, but she has been playing exceptionally well both offensively and defensively.”

Bethune’s season so far has been characterized by consistency. Not only is she third on the team in kills per set, but she is hitting .352 on the year. Her consistent attack has come up big for the Cougars multiple times this season, specifically her career high 12 kills on a .688 hitting percentage.

She currently sits third on the team in blocks per set. Her .98 blocks per set is a crucial component in a defense that currently ranks third in the country in blocks per set, and is less than a 10th of a block per set behind the national leaders.

Bethune has fought through some tough times in order to reach the level she is playing at today. As one of only two seniors on the roster, she has had to come up big and be one of the anchors of the team both offensively and defensively.

The player of the year award did not come easily for Bethune. She missed the first half of her senior season due to a foot injury, but was able to make the most of her last half season in order to claim the award.

Missing playing time would become a trend in her collegiate career. She missed most of the first half of her freshman season due to a concussion early in the year, but was once again able to fight hard the second half of the season and achieve a Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention team selection.

Bethune’s sophomore season was even more difficult. She was only able to play in 18 sets that season, missing the second half of the season due to illness.

Bethune was able to rebound fairly well in her junior season, playing in 24 matches total and starting 17 of them. The highlight of Bethune’s season came when she posted a 10 kill performance against an eighth ranked UCLA Bruins squad.

For Bethune, this season has been a bit different. She has played in every set of every match. She has already equaled a career high in kills in a match this season, with 12 in a three-set match against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Bethune may need to come up big once again in the coming stretch as the Cougars take on two top ten teams in the next three days. Broadcast information for those games can be found on wsucougars.com.