Turner signs with Arkansas State

By Andy Brown
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Updated: November 17, 2015

Louisburg High School senior Madison Turner signed her letter of intent to play volleyball at Arkansas State on Wednesday at Louisburg High School. Sitting next to Madison are her parents Amy and Brad Turner. Standing is Louisburg High School coach Jessica Compliment.

It is isn’t hard to spot Madison Turner on the volleyball court.

Turner, who stands at 6 feet, 4 inches, can usually be found in the middle of all the action at the net. Whether it was with blocks or kills, Turner turned a lot of heads and college coaches seemed to take notice.

The Louisburg High School senior pulled in a lot of college offers and took a dozen visits, but when it came down to it, Turner’s college choice was an easy one to make.

On Wednesday, Turner signed her letter of intent to play for Arkansas State University, a Division I program in Jonesboro, Ark. Her dream finally became a reality.

“It is very exciting,” Turner said. “I knew I always wanted to play Division I and it has been my goal for a long time.”

It was a goal that took a lot of hard work in the weight room and countless matches on the floor, whether it was in high school or club volleyball.

“I am just really excited for her and to see what she can do in her four years there,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Madison has had to deal with some injuries from time to time that has prevented her from coming to the summer weights program, but when she could come she would and work hard. I am very excited she found a school that she really likes.”

Turner joins an Arkansas State program that is on the rise. The Red Wolves recently won the regular season Sun Belt Conference championship and have nearly had a perfect season.

Arkansas State is 25-1 on the season and finished with a 16-0 record in the conference. The Red Wolves’ lone loss so far was to Missouri in early September and have since rattled off 21 wins in a row.

Red Wolves coach David Rehr is excited to see what Turner can bring to their program.

“Madison is already an excellent blocking middle and her offensive game profiles to our style of play,” Rehr said in a statement. “She’s got great size and is a good athlete too so I’m excited on getting her on campus next season and watching her compete. I expect her offensive game to just get better and better once she gets here.”

Although it was an exhaustive process at times that brought along plenty of offers, Turner’s decision wasn’t a difficult one as she fell in love with the program during her visit last May.

“It was really easy to choose Arkansas State because I knew I wanted to attend there after I visited,” Turner said. “I had visited about a dozen other colleges and had other offers, but Arkansas State just felt right. I really liked it there. The coaches are amazing, and I really liked the campus and everything about their volleyball program.”

Turner had a big season for the Lady Cat program as she garnered a first team all-Frontier League selection as she helped Louisburg to its third straight undefeated league crown and a third-place finish at the state tournament. She was also on three state tournament teams during her career, including a second-place finish as a sophomore.

Serving as the team’s middle hitter this season, Turner led the Lady Cats with 327 kills and also had a team-high 266 blocks to go along with 37 aces.

“Playing Louisburg volleyball has been really fun, especially my senior season because I got to play with all my close friends which was great,” Turner said. “My high school career ended with a win at state which was how I wanted to end it. It was great going to state all those years.”

As for her future, Turner knows the jump from high school to Division I volleyball is going to be a big one, but she is looking forward to the challenge.

“The coaches said they wanted to redshirt me the first year because they want me to get stronger before I get out there and play,” Turner said. “I think it would be beneficial because it will give me a chance to get better and stronger.”