Athlete Closeup: Middle Hitter Emily Weimer

Unlike most college students, senior volleyball player Emily Weimer did not have to change much about where she lived for her years of college. Weimer, a senior secondary education major with a concentration in social studies from Thibodaux, attended E.D. White High School, where she excelled in track, basketball and volleyball.

As her high school days were ending, she looked to her role models to help her with her decision to play college volleyball. Weimer said they were Mary Cavell, her high school volleyball coach, Sarah Johnson, her assistant volleyball coach and Linda Sanders, a P.E. teacher whom she enjoyed.

“I had a lot of talks with all three of them, and they said if you don’t do it, you’re just going to regret it, so you might as well try. You’ll never know unless you try,” Weimer said.

Her decision of where to attend college was not as easy as it sounded.

“I was between Nicholls and Southeastern. Both of my older sisters went to Southeastern, so that was something that was pulling me that way,” Weimer said. “But after meeting with Tommy (Harold) and realizing how close I was to home, it was just like a no-brainer to come here, and I could have my parents if I needed them right down the road.”

Teammate Stephanie Tobison, a senior outside hitter from Carol Streams, Ill., met Weimer during their senior year of high school while at orientation at Nicholls. Tobison said, “We became really good friends, she showed me around and took me in. She introduced me to all of her high school friends and made me feel at home here and made me feel okay to go as far as I did.”

As their freshman season began, Weimer and Tobison got their first taste of action right away.

“We weren’t expecting to start or expecting to play, and then we got put out there on our first game, and we were looking at each other like, ‘We are about to play college volleyball!’,” Tobison said.

Another teammate, Sydney Lerille, a senior middle blocker from Raceland, had known Weimer well before she arrived at Nicholls.

“I have been knowing Emily since we were like six years old. We were rivals in high school, and we played with each other on the same team our 10th grade year for travel ball,” Lerille said.

Lerille played volleyball at Vanderbilt Catholic High School, a rival of Weimer’s school, E.D. White
High School.

“It’s crazy to say we were rivals in high school and then came to Nicholls, and now we’re really not rivals anymore,” Lerille said.

Head coach Tommy Harold has seen Weimer grow as a volleyball player during his tenure at Nicholls.

“She’s continued to develop each year. She’s undersized at her position,” Harold said.

“The girls at her position in the conference are 6 foot 1 inch, 6 foot 2 inches and touching 10 feet, and Emily’s got to beat that with a little bit of speed and smarts, and she does a good job.”

Knowing that this season is her senior year, Weimer recognized the sense of urgency for herself and her senior teammates.

“Since I’m a senior, there’s a more sense of urgency on the court for all three of us because we don’t get to do this much longer. Every practice is like one less than what we have for the rest of our lives,” Weimer said.

After her senior year at Nicholls, Weimer said she plans to get a Master’s degree in secondary education and become an athletic director.

Harold said, “She’s well-rounded and she exemplifies the term ‘student-athlete’,” Harold said. “She wants to teach and coach, and I think she’s going to do a good job at both. I know she’s going to be well prepared and I think she’s going to step right into that role.”