2015 ALL-AREA VOLLEYBALL: Cannie's leadership guides Gryphons to best season in five years

Telegram photo / Abbi O’Leary / Sports Writer
The 2015 Telegram All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year, Natalya Cannie, of Rocky Mount High School.

Natalya Cannie has a unique way of bonding with people.

The Rocky Mount High senior has a knack for understanding the best way to communicate with her teammates. Some respond to being yelled at, and there are others who need the constant encouragement to stay confident in their abilities. It can seem like a balancing act to most people, but for Cannie it simply comes natural to her.

Which is why through all the chaos and unpredictability of the 2015 season, Cannie emerged as the All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year for a second consecutive year. Without Cannie’s steady leadership, the Gryphons likely wouldn’t have finished second in the Big East this season, and without her powerful attacks, the court wouldn’t have been as open for the rest of her teammates.

“I know when my leadership wasn’t there, we didn’t play well at all,” Cannie said. “I know if I’m not there for my teammates, things go downhill, so I try to push myself so I can not get get down on myself. … When I get down on myself, everything just drops, and it gets really bad.”

Cannie, who is planning on studying nursing in college, said being helpful is one of her defining qualities. Sometimes that means lending a hand to a friend in need, but other times that means being a leader on the court and ensuring her teammates are on the same page.

One example of this came in the huddles between points on the court. Cannie said she was constantly encouraging one of her teammates who seemed to receive the brunt of the squad’s frustration after a poor play. Those little moments are an example of Cannie’s desire to help people be happy and also her ability to use different motivational tactics to connect with teammates.

“I get along with everyone, and I’m always helping people,” Cannie said. “I like making people feel better about themselves. I don’t like seeing people get down on themselves.”

Cannie describes herself as talkative and goofy, two adjectives that don’t seem to be great combinations on the court. However, Cannie said those traits let her teammates know that she’s still confident and working hard. It’s when she gets silent and less animated that her teammates begin to worry.

“If I’m not loud and playful and smiling at my teammates, they’ll either think I’m mad or they’ll probably be quiet,” Cannie said. “I’m always laughing with my teammates, trying to make them laugh and trying to make everything brighter and bigger.”

But behind that fun-loving personality was the fiery competitor that propelled the Gryphons back to the postseason for the first time in five years. Cannie was just as dominant as she was last season, finding ways to make an impact even if teams focused their defense on her — not that she noticed those shifts. Cannie was zoned in on just playing the game, not worried about whether teams were scheming to stop her.

It’s one of the main reasons she graded her season a perfect 10 out of 10. She stayed focused on the court, worked hard in practice and led the team to the Big East runner-up spot, leaving herself nothing to regret as her senior year came to a close.

It was a fitting way to honor the memory of Tiara Hinton, a Rocky Mount High volleyball player who died in a car accident last year. Cannie was close to Hinton and said even a year later, her friend gave her motivation to finish her career strong.

“She was still my motivation to push hard, fight hard and finish,” Cannie said. “She’s still the biggest motivation that I had.”

By Josh walfish

Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Wednesday, December 23, 2015