Shaylie Rippet was the heart and soul this season for Whittell volleyball.

The senior led the Warriors to a third-place finish in the 1A West League and a playoff berth.

She anchored the team’s success by leading the Warriors in attacks and serving.

She had more than twice as many kills and service aces as the next Warrior.

For her efforts on the court and in the classroom, Rippet was named the Tribune’s September Student-Athlete of the Month.

South Tahoe soccer star Giovana De Loia was the runner-up.

Rippet, although home from school Thursday due to illness, was excited to hear the news.

“It’s exciting,” Rippet said. “It took a lot of hard work and dedication. I’ve been working hard and playing volleyball since the fourth grade, it’s my favorite sport.”

“Shaylie has grown so much over her volleyball years not only as an athlete but as a citizen to Lake Tahoe,” said Whittell volleyball coach Necoll Martinez. “Her heart for the sport showed every time she was on the court. She had bullet-speed serves and face-crushing outside hits. Her passion for the sport is incredible when she is up in the air swinging away. She inspires my youth team to work hard and shows it will pay off. She works hard in her honors and AP classes just as hard as she works on the court. I couldn’t be more proud of her to be receiving this award.”

Rippet will always remember sweeping Sage Ridge in her final home game and also that they battled in the playoffs and took a set from a higher seed.

“Our team grew a lot from the beginning of the year,” Rippet said. “We ended up going to playoffs and we were the only lower seed to win a set in the whole tournament.”

Rippet, who lives in the Kingsbury Grade area, is planning to go to college following graduation at either Arizona State or Oregon, but is still not sure if that will happen.

She plans to study to become a nurse anesthetist, a nurse who administers anesthesia for surgery or other medical procedures.

“I’ve always been good at chemistry,” Rippet said. “I was one of two people last year who took AP chemistry.”

Rippet is adopted and has a younger brother, Aiden, 15, and an older sister, Kyla, 17, who she lives with, along with her parents. She also has other siblings that live elsewhere.

She is starting her basketball season soon this winter and will compete in track in the spring.

Rippett during the summer enjoys spending time on the lake and also skis and snowboards in the winter.

“I like to do anything in the water,” she said.

Rippet also works every hour she can when she’s not playing sports or completing her homework. She works at Azul-Latin Kitchen in Heavenly Village.

“I like being able to support myself,” she said.