For many students, three straight state championships in volleyball would be the highlight of their high school sports career, but that’s not the case for Andie Malloy. She is a member of the 2011 Girls’ Youth National team and she spent her summer representing her country in the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ Youth World Championship in Ankara, Turkey.

On August 20, just days from the beginning of her senior year, Malloy boarded a plane for an extremely long and tiring flight to Ankara.

“The flight to Turkey was a good 20 hours total each way. With lay-overs in airports and customs, the days spent traveling were extremely long,” Malloy said.

However, the tedious airport procedures were worth it when she arrived to compete.

Playing in another country against international teams can be very intimidating, but Malloy is no stranger to the experience.

“Two years ago I traveled with the Girls’ Youth National Team (GYNT) to Guatemala. I made the GYNT team the following year also,” Malloy said. “We were supposed to go to Singapore for the Youth Olympics, but we were told that we were too young even after having to try out and everything! So I didn’t up traveling there, and of course my latest experience was traveling to Turkey.”

Some of the countries that also made the trip to Turkey to compete included China, Germany, Brazil, and Puerto Rico. Volleyball is a huge international sport and each country has their own way of competing.

“Different countries approach the game in many different ways. For example, some countries will yell at each other when they make a mistake. The serves are very aggressive in international play. The ball is coming fast!” Malloy confirms.

Against tough competition the girls placed 9^th in Ankara, Turkey, but for Malloy tournament play wasn’t over. She had another 20 hours back to the states then it was on to the pre-season Pearland tournament with the high school team.

Once there, Malloy had to deal with intense jet lag.

“Surprisingly I woke up the next morning perfectly fine, but then it hit me in the middle of the day. It took me a few weeks to get over my jet lag,” Malloy said.

However, she played through her extreme jet lag and helped lead her team to a 7^th place finish in the Pearland Classic.

“It was hard for me, but I’m definitely glad I did it,” Malloy said. “That was my last pre-season tournament for my Lovejoy volleyball career and I couldn’t let my team down, so I played through it.”

Andie Malloy has always been a dedicated member of the school’s team and she plans on continuing to be that way on the international level for the U.S. National team.

“After college volleyball I would absolutely love to continue playing overseas!” she said.

Since Malloy already has international experience so it’s no surprise she has dreams of gold.

“It is definitely a goal of mine to keep playing for the U.S. team and make it to the Olympic level,” said Malloy.