After three years of quietly making her mark on the Iowa State volleyball team, senior outside hitter Renae Pruess has emerged as a leader both on and off the court.

“It is really fun to see how much she has grown up,” head coach Linda Crum said. “She is a very quiet person, and as you get to know her you really start to see her talking and being more comfortable. I’ve heard her talk more on road trips this year than I have the other three years combined. It is really fun to see her laughing and open with her teammates because she is a private person.”

As a freshman, Pruess had to learn on the go. She played in 26 matches, starting nine in a season that ended with a 2-27 record overall, 0-20 in Big 12 Conference play.

“The program has a totally different look from when I came in as a freshman,” Pruess said. “We really didn’t have a whole lot of leadership. Basically, everyone played as a freshman and that was hard. There were seven of us freshmen and we had a lot of inexperience.”

The level of competition and intensity the team plays with today is a lot better than it used to be, Pruess said.

“Coach kind of jokes about drills that we do now that there was no way we would have been able to do my first two years here,” she said.

Playing early on in her college career gave her exposure to Big 12 play, Pruess said.

“I didn’t have quite as much experience as everybody else. I didn’t play at the same level of club that everybody did,” she said. “Just getting that experience in Big 12 competition was very good. I was able to progress. After the experience in the fall, I was able to add some technique in the spring and that is where I was able to grow into a better player.”

Following her sophomore year, Pruess set a goal to be a dominant right side hitter in the Big 12.

“I went in with that approach and I ‘found my swing,’ they say, during that spring [of 2002],” Pruess said. “Once I found that, I’ve never looked back. I kept shooting toward my goal. Last year I started off the season wanting to be on all-tournament teams. I wanted that this year as well and I was able to meet that goal. I thought that was a good way to start off the season on a positive note.”

As a junior, Pruess made the all-tournament teams at the ISU Heritage Classic and the University of Missouri and Kansas City Tournament. This season, Pruess has made the all-tournament team in each of the Cyclone’s three tournaments.

“She is an important part of what we do,” Crum said. “She is physically one of our best hitters and blockers. She brings a lot to the table. We can rely on her. She is a dependable player and person.”

In her junior campaign, Pruess started all 32 matches and recorded 286 kills, 134 digs, 12 solo blocks and 95 block assists. In a match against Youngstown, she ended with 19 kills.

Pruess’ persona on the court has also changed over the years, Crum said.

“I have seen her change in that her desire to do better would cause her to get physical and aggressive, but she would keep it all inside,” said Crum. “She would get to the point where she was about to explode. It’s fun to have seen the transition where she has become comfortable being able to laugh at a mistake or to loosen a little bit.

“Her temperament on the court is so different now in that she is a very aggressive player, but she has a calm demeanor. She can laugh at mistakes, refocus, be physical when we need her to and she has learned to manage it all.”

Pruess has been a great leader off the court as well, Crum said.

“Off the court, she is just a person that has to be respected,” Crum said. “She is everything you would want her to be as a young woman and I think that brings into our team a leader; a senior that can be respected.

“She sets a standard for us in the weight room and in the classroom.”

Pruess was named to the academic all-Big 12 first team her sophomore and junior years.

Crum is looking to the four ISU seniors — Pruess, Lindsey Chapman, Michelle Gannon and Dana Koziol — to answer younger players’ questions, Pruess said.

“Before, I was able to sit back and the seniors would answer the questions,” she said. “I’m one of the quieter ones on the team. They’ve really been pressing me to become more vocal. I’ve tried to this year. There have been a couple of times that I have stepped where normally I wouldn’t have.”

Crum said Pruess continues to improve even as the season starts to wind down.

“She is still breaking out of her shell,” Crum said. “I think she can still be one of the best outsides in the Big 12, and I don’t think that she has achieved her potential in that area yet. I think it is something that she wants to see happen before she leaves here and certainly as a coaching staff we want to see her get there.”

Pruess currently leads the team in kills with 214 and is third on the team in total blocks with 56. She had a career-high 22 kills against Murray State Sept. 12.

After finishing 4-22 and 10-22 during her sophomore and junior years respectively, Pruess said she brings a determination to fight through the tough times.

“I’m not going to back down and quit,” Pruess said. “A lot of people would have quit their freshman and sophomore years with the way our seasons went and how practices went. I have a determination that we are going to fight through anything, no matter how hard it is.”