Friends, family and fans line the edges of the enclosed court, cheering and screaming with every point on the board. With her toes buried in the sand, a slight bend in her knees and forearms bright red, she dives for the ball launching it off her arms and up over the net.

For senior Claire Nagelhout this scenario is all too familiar and will continue to be that way for the next four years at Lehigh University, whose division one indoor volleyball team Nagelhout committed to last december.

With this commitment came Nagelhout’s decision not to play on Whitman’s fall team, where she has nurtured her skills and developed game-hardened bonds with teammates.

After three seasons on Whitman’s girls varsity volleyball team, Nagelhout decided to focus on her club team, beach volleyball tournaments and working out with her trainer, she said.

This loss of Nagelhout was detrimental to the Whitman volleyball team as Nagelhout was one of their strongest players.

“Claire was without a doubt the best player that’s ever played Whitman Volleyball, but she never took that as an excuse to miss practice or not practice as hard as the rest of us,” senior teammate Cece Turkewitz said. “If there was a long rally that needed to end, the team would look to Claire because we knew she could put it away and win us the point.”

The decision not to play for Whitman was a hard one, but with an early division one commitment, Nagelhout knew focusing on her club team this season was important for her collegiate career.

With her commitment came a positive impact on her performance.

“I definitely saw a difference in Claire’s performance after she committed. She was more energetic, showed more personality on and off the court and she started making bigger and better plays,” club teammate and UCLA commit Emily Ryan said.

With the nerves gone, Nagelhout is able to focus on strengthening her game and building excitement for her college play at Lehigh.

“I really liked the coaches and players and how they valued school and volleyball equally so one didn’t get more attention than the other,” Nagelhout said. “I also thought that both the volleyball and academics were a really good fit for me.”