Although sophomore outside hitter Amy Pflughaupt has taken a long road to get to the Texas State volleyball court, she plans to finish her last three years here.
The story of how Pflughaupt began her volleyball career is by no means a fairy tale.
“I started in junior high and began to really like it a lot,” Pflughaupt said. “I decided to continue playing all the way through high school.”
Pflughaupt was a highly decorated volleyball player at El Campo High School. She was an all-district first team honoree all four years, Newcomer of the Year her freshman year and a first team all-region selection her senior year.
In addition to volleyball, Pflughaupt was a stand out in basketball, softball and track. She was a two-time all-region selection and district MVP her junior year in basketball and a two-time all-district center fielder in softball.
Pflughaupt was also selected to play for Texstar, a select club volleyball team out of Weimar, Texas.
With such a major presence on the volleyball court, Pflughaupt decided to take her talents back to basketball after graduation in 2015. She decided to sign with the Association Free Lutheran Bible School in Plymouth, Minnesota.
“I decided to take a year off from volleyball to play basketball,” Pflughaupt said. “I chose AFLBS mostly because my brothers went there and it was connected to my church.”
After a year in Minnesota, Pflughaupt came to the conclusion that she missed volleyball and wanted to play again. In 2016, she transferred to Wharton County Junior College to play for the Pioneers.
“After that year, I really started to miss volleyball so I decided to come back,” Pflughaupt said. “Wharton was really cool. It was a step up from high school because it was competitive.”
Pflughaupt competed in all 33 matches at WCJC and led the team with 398 kills and 480 points.
At the end of the season, Pflughaupt earned Newcomer of the Year and was named to the all-conference first team.
“It was an honor to receive these awards, but I was not playing for them,” Pflughaupt said. “I was just doing my part to help the team and they came with it.”
After her lone season at WCJC, Pflughaupt transferred to Texas State. Pflughaupt’s choice to move to San Marcos was based on the coaching staff and how others portrayed the school as a whole.
“I kept asking how (good) the coaching staff (was). It was important to me that the coaches were personable and broke everything down for me,” Pflughaupt said. “Here, they do all of that and more. Plus, it is an honor to play for the legendary coach Chisum.”
Finding a place in her new San Marcos family was easy for Pflughaupt. She credits that to the fact that everyone is so friendly and goofy.
“I would definitely say our team is probably the goofiest and competitive team out there,” Pflughaupt said. “We are always laughing and having a good time, but we play to win.”
Although Pflughaupt is only a few hours away from home, she does miss her parents, Gary and Bonnie, and her brothers: Travis, Daniel and Timothy.
“I am kind of a homebody,” Pflughaupt said. “I do miss my family sometimes, but I am still excited to be out here on my own.”