If outside hitter Lane Carico can duplicate the success she had in her first year, the University of Miami volleyball team will be in excellent shape.
The Hurricanes enjoyed a 12-game turnaround from last season, and it was not a coincidence the program’s revival occurred once Carico stepped on the hard court.
Carico, a highly-touted high school prospect out of Manhattan Beach, Calif., is a budding star. She was an integral part of four consecutive high school volleyball championships and carried her high school success straight to the Division I level.
This past season the 5’11” outside hitter earned numerous postseason honors, including ACC Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-ACC.
Carico is also the ideal student-athlete. Majoring in business, her commitment in the classroom resulted in being named to the ACC-All Academic team.
“I don’t really care too much about the awards,” she said. “I just care about how the team does and winning is the most important thing.”
As one of just two Canes to play all 116 sets last year, Carico is so versatile she led the team in kills and service aces, and finished second in digs.
Miami’s chances of a trip to NCAAs lie heavily on her, and she credits a lot of her assets to her older sister and mentor Taylor.
Taylor, who will transfer to the University of Minnesota for her senior season, achieved great success two years ago when she was named second team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and earned Pacific-10 First Team All-Conference.
“My sister and I are really close,” UM’s rising young volleyball star said. “We call each other after every one of our games. We learn from each other and wish each other luck. [Taylor] inspires me to achieve high goals. My whole family is really competitive so we all aim high.”