Standing 5-foot-11 inches, Seton Hall women\u2019s volleyball outside hitter Perri Lucas \u201924 doesn\u2019t quite measure up vertically to many of the taller players on other Division I teams. So Lucas uses an explosive athletic ability, leaping up for highlight-reel spikes that show off her myriad talents.<\/p>\n
Early in her career with the Pirates, Lucas learned that it wasn\u2019t simply about power at the net \u2014 she needed to diversify her skills if she wanted to succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got blocked a ton as a freshman, and it was frustrating, so I had to learn different shots,\u201d says Lucas, a graduate student competing in her fifth season for the Pirates. \u201cI can\u2019t just bang the ball when someone\u2019s 6 foot 3 inches and also jumping high blocking against me. I\u2019ve had to learn to be more crafty with my offense. I learned how to hit around blocks and how to use the block and not be scared of a block in front of me. And then also I\u2019ve had to learn how to speed up my offense.\u201d<\/p>\n
That work paid off for the Chicago native as she finished second in kills for the Pirates in both 2022 and 2023. \u201cShe\u2019s so strong for how she\u2019s only 5 foot 11 inches,\u201d says Seton Hall coach Shannon Thompson. \u201cFor her to be able to hit the ball really hard and jump high, it\u2019s such a nice tangible thing to have. And \u2026 the yo-yo game, as we call it, of moving the defense forward and backwards. She\u2019s really done a good job of developing that volleyball IQ because her athleticism is through the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n
A biology major who also minored in chemistry and Africana Studies, Lucas plans on attending medical school and becoming a dermatologist. Her class load would be a full-time job for most students, and the life of a Division I athlete doesn\u2019t leave a whole lot of free time.<\/p>\n
But Lucas has managed to juggle the academics and athletics. \u201cI was studying on buses, I was studying in the hotel, I was just always studying. I was never really not doing anything. And it was hard, but once you get in the flow of it and know that, OK, I\u2019m going to study my note cards at this time and then look at the PowerPoint at this time and then take a nap at this time and then wake up and then do something else, it got easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas credits her dermatologist back home with inspiring her career choice. She had eczema since childhood and struggled with acne as well, \u201cand I feel like especially once I got acne, my dermatologist really helped clear that up and get my confidence back. And so I wanted to be able to do that for other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ve grown into my leadership,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a lead-by-example type of person because I\u2019m more of a naturally quiet person. But I feel like this year I\u2019ve been using my voice a lot more, and especially with the younger girls, just telling them that it\u2019s OK to make mistakes. You have to grow with it and just get comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a very fun-loving person,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cShe\u2019s pretty quiet, but she does a good job of getting to know her teammates. She has a good heart and wants what\u2019s best for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas fondly remembers a sophomore victory over Connecticut at home on Senior Night, calling it \u201cprobably one of the happiest moments I\u2019ve felt playing volleyball.\u201d Other memorable matches include collecting her career-best 23 kills in a triumph over Butler University in 2023 as well as the team\u2019s grueling five-set victory over rival DePaul that same season, a match that saw Lucas slam 13 kills. \u201cAn exhilarating feeling,\u201d she says of that win.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the same feeling that Lucas and her powerful and crafty hitting have provided Pirates fans for five seasons.<\/p>\n
Shawn Fury is an author based in New York City.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Standing 5-foot-11 inches, Seton Hall women\u2019s volleyball outside hitter Perri Lucas \u201924 doesn\u2019t quite measure up vertically to many of the taller players on other Division I teams. So Lucas uses an explosive athletic ability, leaping up for highlight-reel spikes that show off her myriad talents. Early in her career with the Pirates, Lucas learned…<\/p>\n