She does the defensive work, receiving serves and foiling offensive efforts from opponents while also coordinating her team's defensive alignment.

Pfeiffer senior libero Gabby Edwards has put together a successful four-year career for the Falcons' volleyball program.

Last season, she surpassed the 1,000-dig plateau and had 1,270 digs through Saturday's tri-match with Southern Virginia and William Peace, ranking her fourth all time behind Sarah Beth Hobson '05 (1,355) in third and Emma Gray Beacham '21 (1,619). Brittany Poole '08 is the all-time leader in digs for Pfeiffer with 1,846.

"A dig couldn't happen without my teammates, without the front row closing the blocks," Edwards said.

Along with the front hitters, Edwards credited the setters and passers, saying she knows they have her back.

"I always tell the front row blockers before each play, 'Do your job at the net, and I've got your back. I'm not going to let any balls touch the floor,'" she said.
"It's really about having that team mindset that no ball is hitting the floor."

The libero position Edwards plays focuses on the defensive side of the game: receiving serves, defending attacks from the opposition and covering blockers from her back row position.

In Edwards' case, she said, she sees herself as specifically a leader on the back row. She makes sure her teammates "know who's getting what ball and what sets we're calling. A big part of my job is communication to my front row and back row."

This season's volleyball team has five seniors, including Edwards, who have played together since they were freshmen.

"We've been very fortunate to play together that long," Edwards said.

In terms of communication, Edwards said it was natural between her and the seniors, adding she focuses on communication in practice with others on the team, who she said contribute in huge ways to the squad.

Communication is not as easy away from Merner Gym, where she said Pfeiffer "has great crowds and great fans." The team will often practice with loud music going, which recreates the crowd noise of playing on the road.

Edwards said she was drawn to Pfeiffer as a small-knit community because of where she grew up, in Catawba, N.C., near the Hickory area.

She has played volleyball since the third grade, eventually playing club ball with Carolina Union Volleyball Club and in high school for the Bandys Trojans.

Playing club ball, she explained, helped get her ready to play tri-matches in college, where teams play two games in an afternoon, often back-to-back in a road tri-match.

"Tri-matches — they're hard on your body. If we're going to five sets, that's 10 in a day. That's a lot, especially for people who are jumping, digging and running," Edwards said.

"Playing club ball does help prepare you a little bit better."

A double major in criminal justice and history, with a minor in sociology, Edwards credits time management with helping her to balance the load between student and athlete.

"I've played sports and been busy my whole life, so I have grown up with time management skills, but in college, I became very active," Edwards said.

"I had the mindset that I was going to make the most of my opportunity at Pfeiffer, every opportunity I have. I was going to dive in super deep."

"When I come to volleyball, that's my only focus. Volleyball has always been my safe space, no matter what."

Edwards plans to continue her education next year, applying to law school and possibly having another opportunity to study abroad, as she did during her time in Barcelona, Spain.

She said studying abroad helped her see herself outside of volleyball, adding "it's important for girls and men in this age to realize that you are more than just your sport…I think the biggest thing I learned studying abroad was that I'm more than volleyball."