(Photo submitted)
June Padilla knows she has “definitely” matured during her time at Centre College not only from being on her own — she’s from Murfreesboro, Tennessee — but also from her athletic/academic experiences.
“I’ve got better at time management. As a player, my IQ has gone up. Familiarity with everything has helped me grow and mature as a person and athlete,” she said.
The senior volleyball player tries to remain “calm” during matches but also can get excited during key matches.
“Sometimes I have to remind myself that I have to be the calm force and not get too crazy. I’d be like, ‘Okay, deep breath. Let’s not jump out of our shoes or anything.’ Just stay calm and play,” she said.
Padilla has been playing very well No. 23 Centre (9-3). She was named Southern Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week for games played through Sept. 22 thanks to her career-high 34 digs in a win over Covenant. That was the most digs by a Centre player in a four-set match since the 2019 season.
Padilla moved into the libero role earlier this season when Madi Barron, who had 508 digs in 2023, injured her hand after amassing 124 digs in six matches. Padilla now has 165 digs in 12 matches this season and 825 in her career along with 113 service aces in 92 matches.
The senior says she relies on her “muscle memory” and doesn’t overthink when she is serving.
“We practice serving a lot and work on creating a constant serve,” she said. “Being able to be mentally strong at the serve line is important.”
Centre has played so well this year that it goes into conference play as the team to beat.
“I think people are starting to take us more seriously. We are not so much the underdogs now but we still have an underdog mentality because that is how it has always been for us,” she said. “I think we have gotten better at being able to control playing in front of a big crowd. We have got used to having the stands packed for big matches.”
She’s one of seven players from Tennessee on the roster because of the connections coach Patrick Robidoux has in that state.
“He just really likes the competition and way we play, so he tries to recruit a lot of players from Tennessee and we like that,” she said. “It’s really great in the summer, too, because it allows us to do open gym together and grow closer together.”
She was part of Robidoux’s second recruiting class and had faith he was going to revive the program like he has.
“I knew Centre had struggled a little bit but when I got here we worked so hard in practice and our dedication has paid off,” Padilla said.
She also wanted to come to Centre because of the school’s study abroad program and she spent the summer in Barbados near the ocean where she was part of a class that did research on monkeys.
“That was super cool and so much fun,” she said. “It was a great area and counted toward my major (behavioral neuroscience). We had a bunch of Centre students and a professor that I had already had.”
She plans to study in South Korea in January where she is a “little worried about it being super cold” before going to Japan for some “fun” time.
Padilla plans a gap year after graduation before hopefully going into clinical research.
“That is one of the career opportunities I have and right now that is what I think I will do,” she said.
However, her focus now is on a conference championship.
“I really like the way we are playing but I also know we can also do more,” she said.
Summer in Barbados
Photos Submitted
