On Nov. 12, Navy family member Victoria Sisco joined high school student athletes from around the country who are receiving scholarships. She signed a letter of intent to play volleyball and attend classes on a four-year ride.

The old formula of hard work and dedication is still a potent concoction when it comes to making dreams come true.

Since she was a 9-year-old rookie in the Morale, Welfare and Recreation youth volleyball program at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Victoria Sisco dreamed of playing before a packed house at a college campus in the United States or abroad.

Even though having to resettle and reset her life each time she and her family moved to a different duty station, Sisco made sure that the fire, which ignited during her first stay in Hawaii, never died.

On Nov. 12, Sisco joined high school student athletes from around the country who are receiving scholarships this year. She signed a letter of intent to play volleyball and attend classes on a four-year ride to Belmont Abbey College, Charlotte, North Carolina, a Division II school that competes in the Conference Carolinas.

"I'm really proud for her," said Victoria's dad, Capt. Lee Sisco, assigned to Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet. "She's always been kind of shy and withdrawn, so volleyball was a great start for her to get a love for the game. Starting here really gave her that spark."

In total, Victoria received five offers from schools that included invites from three schools in Division II, one Division III and a junior college.

The offerings were even more impressive, considering that Victoria is home-schooled and received no additional press coverage beyond her matches with MWR and several club affiliations.

Without the press to chronicle her accomplishments and skills on the court, Victoria, with help from dad and mom Kacey, went to work and reached out to several schools on her wish list to notify them about her interest in attending their campus.

The campaign included writing letters and emails, while posting stats and game videos on her recruiting web page.

Obviously, coaches and athletic directors liked what they saw in the talented 17-year-old, which earned her an invite to five different college volleyball camps in North Carolina during the summer.

"It was like three or four days long and seven to eight hours of volleyball per day," She said. "Over the course of summer, I was able to really perfect my serve."

Her dad stated that even before they arrived for the first day of camp, three coaches offered Victoria a place on their roster.

Besides her will to work and level of skills, Sisco said that Victoria also impressed coaches by her positive interaction with every player she came across - something that she learned during her playing years in MWR.

"Once we told the coaches that their school wasn't her choice, a couple wrote her a letter saying that she was one of the best players they ever had the opportunity to coach because of your attitude and compassion," he said. "She (Victoria) has a big heart. She's a competitor, but she's not an aggressive, get-in-your-face, player. She cares about her teammates."

Master Sgt. Abner Ganigan, who was Victoria's first volleyball coach at MWR and is coaching her again this season on Joint Base, said that a will to win combined with excellent sportsmanship, makes her a pleasure for any person to coach.

"You've got to let them love the game," Ganigan said. "That's why we coach. MWR plays a big part of it. It's not just to win. We're out there to play and enjoy it. Win or lose, to watch them grow, it says a lot."

While Victoria said that her past would always be a part of her, she is excited and ready to tackle the challenges ahead of her at Belmont Abbey College and Division II volleyball.

She said that the campus is beautiful and, much like her home on Joint Base, the school has a mixture of new and historic buildings.

"I'm ready for it," said Victoria, whose 14-year-old sister Maddie is waiting in the wings for chance at a scholarship. "Physically, I have to work on my vertical and stamina. And for academics, I can get better all the way around."

For more news from Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, visit www.navy.mil/.