Kenzi Prosser had been dancing since she was 3 years old when her family moved from Illinois to Destin before her seventh-grade year. She planned to keep dancing at Destin Middle School, but was unable to tryout.

So she gave volleyball a shot instead.

• “I was not going to play volleyball if I had been able to try out for dance,” Prosser said. “So I just tried it for fun, and then I ended up really liking it and started playing club.”

She quit dance soon after.

Five years later, Prosser is a senior captain, a Citadel commit and the leading hitter for a Destin team that won the first district championship in program history last week.

Through Oct. 15, MaxPreps credits Prosser with 321 kills, 268 digs and 30 aces while hitting .317 for the Lady Sharks, who are 13-6 under first-year Head Coach Dominic Fasula. She has played varsity all four years at Destin High School.

Dance taught her a lot, Prosser said, but volleyball gave her something it couldn’t.

“I feel like I’m way too competitive for dance,” she said. “I really loved it, but it was not where I would see myself forever. When I started playing volleyball, I really loved the team environment, and getting to work together towards a common goal. I love it. I love volleyball.”

A night that can’t be taken away

That competitiveness was on full display on Oct. 15, when Prosser had 21 kills and 27 digs in Destin’s 25-18, 25-17, 21-25, 21-25, 15-13 win over Maclay for the District 1-2A title.

The Lady Sharks won the first two sets before Maclay took the next two and built a 12-8 lead in the fifth.

“That fifth set, I was not feeling the confidence,” Prosser said. “I was a little bit nervous, but then I just told myself ‘we got this.'”

In Destin’s final timeout, Prosser said, Fasula told the team it would come down to which team wanted it more. When she walked back onto the court, she looked over at the sideline.

• “I saw some of our coaches on the side and they looked like they really wanted it for us,” she said. “Pretty sure I saw someone over there praying, and I was like, ‘Wow, I really want this for our school.'”

Destin scored seven of the final eight points to win the set 15-13.

“Being down 12-8 in a fifth set and coming back from it is crazy and I’m really proud of the team,” Prosser said. “That’s something that can never change. Our lives will go on. We’re going to be doing bigger and better things, but being the first at something, no one can take that from you.”

To Fasula, the match showed what he sees from her every day.

“What that showed me is that she’s in a league of her own,” he said. “There’s a certain it factor, and her presence, her body language, her control, her demeanor stand alone as far as the intensity of play. But the one thing that’s the most unique with her as an athlete is you see the purity of the game. You see the love, you see the joy, you see the excitement. It’s contagious.”

More than the kills

Prosser’s biggest statistical night came on Oct. 6 against Russell County, when she had 37 kills on 62 attempts without a hitting error, along with 33 digs. She didn’t know the numbers until after the match, and she was quick to credit her teammates.

“I think our team was really just clicking,” she said. “Our passing was on. I was getting amazing sets. I think the setter just kept pushing it out to me.”

Fasula said that might not even be the best she’s played. He described her as a cerebral outside hitter who diagnoses a defense and plays off what it gives her. What impresses him most, though, is the part of her game that doesn’t show up in the box score.

• “Her ability as a passer is unbelievable,” Fasula said. “I’ve never come across a cleaner passer in the game, especially at this young age. Every play starts, in order to get a kill, you have to have a solid pass to a setter, and her consistency and her depth and her movement towards the ball opens up offense for the rest of the team.”

In the back row, Prosser has a simple outlook.

“I have the mentality of no ball hits the floor,” she said. “Even if it looks like you’re not going to be able to get it, I always try and go for it either way.”

Fasula also pointed to how late she came to the sport. He said she studies film of opponents and scouts who she’ll be hitting against.

“You hear across all sports, ‘Oh, they’ve aged out,’ ‘It’s too late for them to start,‘” Fasula said. “Absolutely not. She is the case study. You have someone that came in, that fell in love with the game, and her motivation, her standard for excellence, she paved her way.”

Family and the road to The Citadel

Prosser is the oldest of five. Her siblings are 11, 10, 8 and 7.

“I love having younger siblings because I get to watch them grow up, and they’re like my babies,” she said.

She called her mom her biggest influence.

“She’s gone through a lot in her life, and she shows that even through all that, you can persevere through hard times,” Prosser said. “She’s always there for me, and she really knows me better than anyone.”

Her dad has also shaped how she sees her future.

• “He’s such a hard worker,” she said. “He works a very hard job, and he’s such a provider, and it’s very inspiring, like for me and how I want to be in my future.”

Her commitment to The Citadel started with an email. Prosser had reached out to schools, and after returning from a tournament, she found a reply from The Citadel. A call with an assistant coach and a campus visit followed, and so did an offer.

“I love discipline and structure and challenges,” Prosser said. “I don’t just want to go somewhere that anyone would want to go to.”

She said she doesn’t usually make big decisions on the spot, but this one was different.

“I knew that this is not something that would change for me just because of how strongly I felt about the school,” she said.

The decision was about more than volleyball. Prosser, whose favorite class is psychology, hopes to work for the FBI one day, specifically in behavioral analysis. She’s loved crime and detective shows since she was a kid, and she said she was told the FBI recruits from The Citadel.

“I want to do something that I’m passionate about,” she said. “Just be able to help people or understand the minds of people.”

The captain

Being named captain matters to her, Prosser said, but it isn’t why she leads.

“Even if I wasn’t captain, I really hope to always take a lead or be the best teammate I can on the court,” she said. “I hope that I’m someone that my teammates can look up to, and that’s something that I really strive to be.”

Fasula said she already is.

Destin expanded its roster for the playoffs and added three freshmen, and he said the younger players look to her for guidance.

• “There’s a fine line between leading and dictating, and she leads,” Fasula said. “She’s acting as an in-game General on the court. She’s very much earned and deserves the title of captain because every minute she’s on and off the court, she embodies it.”

He also described her as one of the most humble and grateful athletes he’s coached.

“It’s really easy for egos to take over and entitlement,” he said. “That kid’s the antithesis of those.”

Prosser was just as quick to talk about her teammates. She singled out middle Kaylee Kaiser as the teammate she’s locked in with on the court.

“She is such a light, and very aggressive and competitive,” Prosser said. “She’s always cheering everyone on.”

Away from the court, Prosser likes the beach, coffee shops and driving around listening to music with her friends, usually with a stop at 7 Brew.

Five wins from glory

Destin opens the playoffs at home Tuesday night against Oak Hall. After practice Monday, Fasula reminded his team of what it showed against Maclay.

“I told them tonight, ‘You guys are five wins from glory,'” he said.

For Prosser, a deep run would mean doing it alongside teammates she’s been through “a lot of different teams and coaches and seasons” with.

Fasula said it’s been special to watch her carve out a legacy at a school that is still young.

“She’s carved her own path and legacy at this school through her hard work and her excellence on and off the court,” he said. “It’s very cool to just sit back from afar and just take it all in, because it is rare you see those athletes and those experiences.”

Prosser sees that youth as the opportunity.

“We are still a new school,” she said. “Of course, there’s so much firsts to still happen. I think we have the opportunity as a team and myself to set a standard at Destin and really make history for sure.”