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Reagan Stoop was a mixture of trepidation and excitement as she left the comfortable confines of home in Terra Ceia in the fall for the uncharted waters of Bridgewater College, five hours away in Virginia.

She returned for the holidays with her family as a Division III volleyball All-American.

Stoop didn’t know what to expect as she joined the Eagles fresh from consecutive volleyball state championships and one softball title at Pungo Christian Academy, where she won every major conference, region and state classification award multiple times in volleyball, basketball and softball and is regarded as the best female athlete in school history.

She overcame her initial anxiety to earn a starting spot for every one of the Eagles matches and took home some more hardware in the process.

“I didn’t know what to expect coming from PCA where there were 12 in my graduating class,” Stoop said. “I had been there since kindergarten and knew everybody at the school. Bridgewater is not that big (around 2,000 students), but it was still much bigger than I was used to. It took me about

a month to really settle in, but I love it now.”

Twice a day practices started the day after she arrived, which eased her nerves somewhat. Classes began the following week with just one practice a day and a rhythm soon developed.

The 5’11 Stoop was one of three outside hitters at the beginning and soon claimed a starting spot. She soon adapted to the faster pace in practice and the speed at which drills were run.

Homesickness hit as well, but having a roommate far from home (Kentucky) made the situation easier to handle.

“We just decided to suck it up and focus on adjusting to college volleyball,” Stoop said. “I was surprised to start the first match and just took it all in for a moment before it started. I got my first kill pretty early in the match and I just settled down and played after that.”

The Eagles finished tied for second place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and 23-6 overall for their best record in 16 years. Only the league champion advanced to the national tournament, so the season ended with a loss in the conference tournament.

Along the way, Stoop was conference Player of the Week three times, first team All-Conference, the region’s Freshman of the Year, All-Region and Honorable Mention All-American.

“I couldn’t have done any of it without my teammates and coaches,” Stoop said. “Everyone has been very encouraging and my coaches have helped me improve a lot. I was shocked about being Player of the Year and I didn’t even know All-American was a thing. All the awards are great, but I didn’t get them by myself.”

Stoop is majoring in Health & Exercise Science on a path to becoming a physical therapist. When she returns to campus next month, she’ll have a full academic schedule, weightlifting three days a week, practices, occasional weekend scrimmages and maybe some snow.

“I’m really looking forward to that,” she said. “It doesn’t snow much at home, so I think that will be a neat experience. My goals for spring are to get stronger and jump higher. I need to communicate better on the floor and be a more vocal leader now that I have some experience. I want my teammates to love volleyball like I do, which will make us even more successful next season.”