Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

For the past four years, Western Boone senior Raegan Durbin has re-written the Stars’ volleyball record book, and helped the team reach unprecedented heights. Now Durbin officially has her collegiate home, signing with Middle Tennessee State University last week at the start of the early signing period. She celebrated that decision at Western Boone on Tuesday afternoon. “I am super excited,” Durbin said on Tuesday. “It’s kind of a relief, because it’s something that I have been looking forward to for a really hard time and something that I’ve worked really hard towards. I’m enrolling early, so it’s not too many more days before I’m leaving to go down there. So it’s mostly excitement, a few nerves but that’s a good thing because it means you care.” MTSU is an NCAA Division I school that plays in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders are coached by Chuck Crawford. “I’m going to have a lot of good opportunities when I go there, which is something that I was looking for in a program,” Durbin said. “I want to make an impact right way and they were one of the most supportive coaching staffs I talked to during the recruiting process. I liked the location of the school and a lot of their values aligned perfectly with mine. I can’t wait to get down there.” Durbin will be graduating Western Boone in December and enrolling at Middle Tennessee State in January to take part in the off-season program. She said she is excited to get to work with the team and make the adjustment to college life. “I just want to go down there and embrace it all,” Durbin said. “I know I am going to be a freshman and young, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make an impact right away. That’s what I kind of expect, and I think that’s what they expect of me as well.” Durbin was an all-state selection this season for Western Boone, finishing with 581 kills, 242 digs, and a career high 49 blocks. freestar She was named an Indiana All-Star, one of just five seniors to earn the honor in WeBo history. “A big thing the (MTSU coaches) talked to me about was my leadership,” Durbin said. “That is something I was looking for in a school too, a school that values the kind of player you are and doesn’t try to make you a different player. That was something that stood out to me, they liked my leadership and how I can make an impact in the front and back row.” Durbin will leave Western Boone as the single-season kill (623 as a junior) and aces (94 as a sophomore) leader, as well as the career kill leader with 1,881. She also finished with 912 digs, 224 aces and 119 blocks. She helped lead the Stars to three conference titles, three sectional titles, three regional titles and two appearances in the State Finals, helping the Stars capture the state title this fall. In the championship match, she set a Class 2A three-set match record with 24 kills. “I watched my brothers go through high school and just thought ‘whoa, they are so successful’ and in the back of my mind I hoped our volleyball team could do that,” Durbin said referencing her brother’s roles in WeBo’s football titles from 2018-2020. “Once I started competing at WeBo, it was more of a ‘we’re going to do this,’ not ‘I hope we can do this.’ We worked hard and we were successful, so it was a lot of fun.” While she is going to remember the championships and some of the records, one of the biggest takeaways she will have from her time as a Star is the relationships she built. “The support that comes from everybody is amazing,” Durbin said. “Not just the community, or the coaches, but everybody in the school asks about volleyball and how things are going. This community is so special to me and it makes me a little sad that I am leaving, but I am super thankful for my time here and I couldn’t ask for a better support system.” Durbin plans on majoring in exercise science and minoring in nutrition. Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.