The Eastside volleyball team only won one game in 2022.
Middle blocker Samiyah Daniels helped turn the program around in her first season as a junior.
Daniels led the Rams (11-11) to a .500 record in 2023 and a spot in the 4A-District 5 championship game, where they lost to eventual 4A region finalist Santa Fe (Alachua).
On Tuesday, the 6’ senior signed to play volleyball for Albany State University, a Division-II program in Albany, Georgia.
“It means a lot because ‘freshman me’ would have never thought that I would get this far, honestly, and it means a lot that a lot of people came and supported me, I didn’t expect that much,” she said. “It is a big thing for Eastside because it’s been nine years since the last commit for volleyball, so I feel like I’m making history.”
Daniels said her junior year, after earning second team All Area, is when she felt like she had a chance to play at the next level.
“I definitely saw my potential grow during my junior year and then I got a scholarship to play for club (RADD Elite) so I was pretty sure I could get far with this,” she said.
She had a team-leading 118 kills and 116 blocks as a junior.
“She’s a team mother and then a beast on the court,” said Eastside volleyball coach Rachel Williams. “She’s very responsible, kind of a quiet leader, but on the court you can just see in her eyes that she wants to win and she takes care of that at the net mostly blocking and hitting, but she also has come along with her serves and back row because she plays when the libero is out, and that was amazing to see her dive for her size on the floor.”
This past season, she led the Rams (11-13) with 190 kills and 105 blocks. She also added 46 digs and 38 aces.
Her efforts earned her first team All Area honors in 2024.
“She is ready for a challenge,” Williams said. “She works hard with a good attitude. I think that’s a lot of it, listening, the teachability…there’s a strategy that is involved and she would listen. It was amazing what a difference she made in two years…that shows you are locked in, you want to win, and you want to get better.”
She hits the books just as hard, carrying a weighted 3.9 grade point average.
“She’s a student first,” said Eastside principal Leroy Williams. “She’s a pleasure to have on campus. She has that charisma about her, and everyone knows that, but she puts in the work academically and because she has done that she has put herself in a situation to where now she gets to continue her academics and also play a sport in which she loved.”
Daniels said she initiated the contact with her new school.
“I knew I wanted to go to an HBCU (Historically black colleges and universities) and I knew about Albany State, we also have an alum that works here that went to Albany State as well, so it was definitely a school I had an interest in,” she said. “Once I reached out the coach was very enthusiastic in getting back to me.”
A campus visit was scheduled for Nov. 6, and she got a chance to practice with the team.
She also got a taste of the next level on Nov. 21 when she participated in “The Prep Zone All-Star Showcase” in Alachua.
“I enjoyed playing in the All-Star game,” she said. “I remember in our first game we played against the girl from The Rock (Mary Massias, a Lehigh University signee) and she was a hitter, and I was blocking her, and I was like, ‘this is definitely what it’s going to be like,’ and she’s also a really good player and I enjoyed watching her play as well because I know she started from somewhere as well, she had to get there.”
The future is bright for both Daniels and Albany State.
Last month the Lady Golden Rams (19-10) took Spring Hill College (AL) to five sets before falling 3-2 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) championship game.