Volleyball: Leggs adjusts to Pittsburgh lifestyle

Chipotle and Qdoba just don’t cut it for California native Kiesha Leggs. While Pittsburgh… Chipotle and Qdoba just don’t cut it for California native Kiesha Leggs. While Pittsburgh prizes its pierogies and Primanti’s, true Mexican food is a bit harder to find.

“I’m still looking for a good Mexican restaurant,” Leggs said. “Mexican food and warm weather — those are two things I miss about California,” she added with a laugh.

Despite the lack of south-of-the-border cuisine and sunny days, Leggs, a senior middle hitter for the Panther volleyball team, has made Pittsburgh her home for the past two years.

Born in Stockton, Calif., Leggs spent most of her life on the West Coast. She even began her collegiate athletic career at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, where she also played basketball.

But the opportunity to play at a Division I school drew her to Pitt for her junior season, and so far Leggs believes she has made a great decision.

“I had offers from Division II schools, but I always aimed high and thought of myself as a Division I-caliber player,” Leggs said.  “When I heard from Pitt and visited the campus and met with the coaches, I knew it would be a good fit.”

According to Pitt head coach Toby Rens, Leggs has done more than just fit into the team. This season, she emerged as a leader and was named a senior captain.

“After just one season at Pitt, Kiesha has stepped up tremendously and her progress has been outstanding,” Rens said. “She is an aggressive player on the court and has taken on a huge offensive load for the team.”

At 6-foot-3, Leggs sticks out immediately. The only thing more impressive than her height is the way she moves across the court. While her quickness and ability to get to the ball are valuable, her abilities in the air are just as startling. Her agility is the result of a mixed athletics background, one that gives her the edge over most of her competitiors.

“Playing different sports shows true athleticism and a resiliency to physically demanding challenges,” Rens said. “Kiesha shows those aspects in her volleyball game, especially in her jumping capability and her intense attitude.”

As one of only two seniors on this year’s squad, Leggs has been a force in the first matches of the season. She recorded double-digit kills in four of the Panther’s first seven matches, helping to propel the team to a 6-1 record. Leggs also earned all-tournament honors at the Pitt Panther Invitational.

While Leggs does not necessarily set out to attain individual recognition, she welcomes the rewards of her efforts on the court.

“I am always grateful when I receive acknowledgement for my play,” Leggs said. “It’s almost like saying, ‘Thank you for appreciating my hard work, and noticing that I was doing well.’”

This year, Leggs has had to expand her role and take on a more active leadership role on the team, which might seem daunting for the youngest child in a family of six.

But Leggs admits that when it comes to her older siblings, she was never much of a follower.

“I definitely forged my own path my whole life,” Leggs said. “I was the different one who always had to do the opposite of everyone else — playing sports in college, leaving home for school. Being a leader comes more naturally [to me] than you might think.”

Part of her duty as captain includes helping the younger members of the team, and there are a lot of inexperienced players on the 2011 squad. In Pitt’s most recent victory over Miami (Ohio), four freshmen and two sophomores saw playing time.

Junior Jasmine Dittrich has noticed Leggs’ commitment to leadership this season and has seen the benefits already.

“Kiesha has a lot of responsibility this year as a senior captain,” Dittrich said. “But the great thing about her is that she is willing to do whatever is asked of her, even if it means adjusting her style of play to fit the team or helping out the younger players.”

However, Leggs is careful to be more of a mentor than another coach.

“If I notice something on the court, an opportunity that someone is missing or an adjustment that needs to be made, I will point it out,” Leggs said. “If a younger player seeks out my advice, I am more than happy to help, but I know to let the coaches do their job.”

As one of those coaches, Rens has been pleased with Leggs’ ability to lead with an on-court example.

“More than anything, Kiesha’s presence as a middle is what can inspire the younger players,” Rens said. “They see her playing with passion and they see her athleticism, and that motivates them to improve as well.”

For fellow middle blocker Jasmine Dittrich, Leggs’ intensity is definitely something she admires.

“Kiesha and I play the same position sometimes at practice, and watching her play with emotion and energy is exciting and inspires me to do the same,” Dittrich said. “She will make plays that are just ridiculous and all I can say is that I am glad I am only on the opposing team in practice.”

Those intangible aspects of Leggs’ game come from her background as a multi-sport athlete.

Leggs actually started off as a basketball player, picking up volleyball as a way to stay in shape during the offseason. Soon, however, she realized that volleyball would be her future.

“It was always basketball, basketball, basketball,” Leggs said. “But once I truly learned to appreciate the game of volleyball and learned the strategies involved, it began to take priority and I grew to love it.”

Rens is certainly glad she chose volleyball, but he admits that multi-sport athletes stand out in the recruiting process.

“She may take a few less elbows in volleyball than in basketball,” Rens added jokingly, “but that experience with physical contact makes her an aggressive player.”

Perhaps the most telling sign of Leggs’ commitment to hard work and physical play for the sake of her team is her preference of posting a block over putting down a kill.

“Getting the kill is nice, but it is more of a personal accomplishment that looks pretty and makes for a good picture,” Leggs said. “But when you can put up a huge block and shut the other team down, that is just a huge motivator for the whole team that can start a rally. I would rather have that big block for a point than a kill any day.”

That statement was a sign to Rens that Leggs is evolving into a more complete player that can achieve an elite level.

“The offense stuff, the kills and the hits, have been Kiesha’s bread and butter and they will always be there,” Rens said. “Knowing that she is enjoying the defensive part of her game as well is great to hear and as a team, we look forward to those stifling blocks at the net.”

In a short time, Leggs has made a name for herself in the Pitt program while also establishing ties to the larger Pittsburgh community.

She relishes the friendly atmosphere of the campus and the entire city, something she says was lacking in her hometown of Stockton.

“Back home, everyone drives everywhere and if you saw someone walking around, you wondered what was going on,” she said. “Here, it seems like people — and students, especially — are always outside, engaging in some sort of activity. I like being part of that active scene.”

Of course, being away from her family is difficult at times. Leggs also acknowledges that Pitt “does not have even one game close to California,” and she misses her siblings.

“It is hard to be so far from home and the things that are familiar — but our team is so close that it is like a second family,” Leggs said. “We love to hang out after practice and go to movies or out to dinner as a group. We are friends in addition to teammates.”

This season, the Panthers have been successful early on, thanks in part to Leggs and her performance. Still, she is far from satisfied.

“My main goal for the team is to win the Big East title,” Leggs said. “Personally, I want to be the player that other teams notice before they play Pitt. I want to be recognized as a force to be taken seriously.”

Assistant Sports Editor Isaac Saul contributed to this article.