Words by Lewis Flanagan III
Position: Middle Blocker/ Outside Hitter
School: South Grand Prairie High School
Location: Grand Prairie, TX
Class: Junior
The spring volleyball season was not a particularly kind one to the Lady Tigers of Texas Southern University. The team clawed their way to a pair of conference wins in mid-season, but the team’s inability to find consistent success on the court seemed to prevent them from inflicting any quantifiable carnage on the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Despite their past difficulties, the Lady Tigers are looking to their upperclassmen, like Jada Hall, to lead the way out of the SWAC basement.
Hall earned both First and Second-Team All-District honors in each of her four years at South Grand Prairie High School. Despite her heavy-handed dominance over district competition, Hall managed to balance her successes on the court with matching National Honor Society honors throughout her high school career. Having demonstrated such competitive consistency, Jada Hall made the commitment to Texas Southern, where her dreams of becoming a dermatologist are becoming a reality through the school’s Health Studies department.
Jada was an instant-impact player in her freshman year. She listed among the team’s top five in kills, logged 94 digs and 29 blocks, all while contributing as a scorer with 181 points and 4 service aces. Hall’s numbers dipped slightly in her sophomore campaign, but it is likely due to the laser-like focus exerted en route to being named to the SWAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll while nearly duplicating each of her career-best numbers. Jada Hall elected to sit out of what would have been her true junior season, but has returned this year in rare form.
Southern Athletics)
In the second match of the fall season, Jada Hall put up 10.5 points and 9 kills, helping the Lady Tigers even their record against Southern University, after dropping the season-opener at Nicholls State. The win is Texas Southern’s only thus far, but serves as a clear example of the kind of play that will be required to bring the Lady Tigers back from the ashes of the Southwestern Conference. At a time where fodder for inspiration is sparse, the Lady Tigers have seemingly found it in the 5-foot, 10-inch middle blocker that never spends a single day off of her game. While Hall’s role in the fall of 2021 may not be so glamorous, she and a few of her fellow upperclassmen are putting the team on their backs, and making a gracefully valiant attempt at course correction.
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The notion that you can tell more about the character of a person in times of adversity could not be made any more material than it is in the ongoing career of Jada Hall. Though many could miss the opportunity to witness her lace up her sneakers in person, we all have the chance to benefit from her example as her teammates do. Defense wins championships, but champions win our hearts by giving their game theirs.