Pitt’s Town setting her eyes on a title

If you asked the students at Pitt what they were primarily here for, the majority would likely… If you asked the students at Pitt what they were primarily here for, the majority would likely answer with their major. Amy Town isn’t one of them. But the newest up-and-comer on Pitt’s volleyball team knows exactly what she wants to do: lead her team to the Big East Championships. Then win it. ‘My education is very important to me, but I came here to be on a volleyball team,’ said Town. ‘People might misunderstand that, but I’m here to be on this team. It’s always volleyball first for me.’ For the first time in this sophomore’s collegiate career, that commitment is really starting to pay off. After earning her first start as a Pitt Panther at the Kentucky Tournament (Pitt’s first contest of the season), Town was immediately named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll. That weekend she recorded 43 kills, 119 attacks, a 3.58 kill per set average and 19 digs. This isn’t bad after a freshman year of riding the bench and watching standout Diana Andreyko play in the spot that she would later fill. ‘I sat on the bench a lot last year, and it made me realize how good it is to be on the court,’ said Town. ‘It’s hard to train everyday and not see any floor time, so I’m going to work very, very hard to stay on the court.’ Raised in Orillia, Ontario, Town was born to be an athlete. With a decathlete father and a hurdling mother, she started in sports when she was in the sixth grade. And she started with anything she could get her hands on. What started as basketball, discus, badminton and volleyball eventually turned into basketball and volleyball in high school. She was a three-time MVP of her high school’s volleyball and basketball teams, as well as a member of the Georgian Bay Vista Volleyball Club and Canadian Junior National Team. ‘I was on the [club] team for five years in addition to high school,’ said Town. ‘It basically consumed my life.’ It was because of that club team, and more specifically the coach, Dan Lethbridge, that she realized that she wanted to stick with volleyball. ‘I loved him as a coach, and it made my love for volleyball grow that much more.’ After graduating, Town saw the more intense level of play and increased scholarship opportunities as incentives to head to the United States. She says that without athletic scholarships, as is the case in Canada, there isn’t the opportunity to reach one’s maximum potential. Now that she has that opportunity, Town is taking advantage of it and doing so with some big goals in mind.’ ‘ ‘ ‘With the new coach, we’re focused on coming together right now,’ said Town. ‘Personally, I just want to play hard every single day, but we want to win Big East and maybe make the Sweet 16 in NCAA. I have no doubt that we’re big contenders for Big East.’ After not making the Big East tournament at all last year, that’s a big goal, but the way that coach Toby Rens describes her, Town is a team-oriented player who relishes in others’ successes, which could get her far. ‘Amy is the type of individual who realizes that success is only a result of the teammates around her,’ said Rens. ‘She’s the first to credit the setter with a good set that set her up, or a teammate who might’ve been playing defense behind her, or passing the ball so we could run that play. She’s very unselfish like that.’ It’s not only her teammates whom Town plays for ‘not;’mdash; her new coach is part of this team-oriented player’s focus. ‘ ‘I’m really excited about what Toby is teaching us and what he stands for,’ said Town. ‘Everyone really likes him and is really excited. He takes a very different approach to what we want to do technique-wise and getting back to fundamentals. But the goals are the same: win Big East and do the best we can.’