SVHS Senior Spotlight: Jordan Nichols

By Richard Hafner

Saucon Valley senior outside hitter (OH) Jordan Nichols stands 5'8" tall and began playing volleyball as a ninth grader.

"I thought it looked like a fun sport," she recalled recently.

Following her first season, Jordan said she "really began to love the sport" and played club volleyball for Quickset. Currently she is a member of East Coast Power.

Although a member of the junior varsity team to begin her first year at Saucon Valley, she was added to the varsity roster by mid-season, which enabled her to play for both squads. She credits her coaches and teammates for teaching her about the sport and herself, which enabled her to become a better player and team leader. Both Head Coach Christa Paul and her assistant Heather Lockner agreed that Jordan was the team's strongest player.

"She needed to be challenged to fine tune her game and take it to the next level," Paul said. Jordan's talent and dedication to the game combined with “her killer instinct” were qualities both coaches said they admired.

Jordan said her most memorable moment came this season when she became the first Panther player to be named a member of the first 2013 Colonial League All Star Volleyball Team in its inaugural year as a Colonial League sport.

Although it is natural to admit it would have been better to advance further in 2013 postseason play, qualifying for postseason was in and of itself a major accomplishment.

The Panthers (12-8) finished the season in third place.

Jordan noted that Coach Paul "helped my development on and off the court."

Jordan is an avid fan of Penn State volleyball, which she said is a program loaded with "truly amazing and inspiring athletes."

Her future plan is to enroll at a college and where she would like "to continue playing volleyball, but preferably at a club level. Academics are going to be my first priority in college."

Jordan is vice president of her class, a member of Future Business Leaders of America, a member of the school's branch of the National Honor Society and a SVHS mini-thon leader. Jordan was also named the team's Most Valuable Player at the Fall Sports Recognition Assembly held at Saucon Valley Nov. 20.

Jordan has a brother, Jake, and is the daughter of John and Julie Nichols.

Photo by Richard Hafner