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DOWAGIAC — Faith Rankin, of Battle Creek Lakeview High School, has signed a National Junior College Athletic Association letter of intent to play volleyball for Roadrunners Coach Jenny Nate.

“I am beyond excited to sign Faith Rankin,” Nate said. “She is an incredibly tough, fast, aggressive player and lethal attacker on the net. She has amazing court presence and is hard to stop. She is a smart player and puts the ball away from literally any spot on the court. She will be a key player for us in the fall. She comes from a very strong Lakeview program where she was named SMAC All-Conference, All-Region, All-City, Academic All-State, and team most valuable player.

“Equally important, Faith is an outstanding student and leader in the classroom and is exactly the type of scholar-athlete we want to help build our positive culture and volleyball program here at SMC.”

Veteran Lakeview Head Coach Heather Sawyer feels Rankin is a good fit for SMC.

“Faith Rankin has grown exponentially during her time at Lakeview,” she said. “She brought dynamic and powerful play to our offense this year, high-flying attacks with speed in the system that is tough to train. Faith set the bar at a new level with respect to play on the right side. Her good-hearted nature and ability to bring laughter and joy when it was needed was appreciated. The Spartan volleyball community wishes Faith good luck as she transitions into the next part of her volleyball career at Southwestern Michigan College.”

Rankin joins Shayla Shears, of Edwardsburg; Nikola Nate, of Niles; Kate Miles, of Centerville; Bianca Hobson, of Loy Norrix; and Elizabeth Stockdale, of Brandywine, on the growing SMC roster.