By Ed Martin, Editor
Shelby Saporetti, center, was joined by father Michael and mom Deanna Thursday morning in the Lemoore High School Event Center where she signed a letter-of-intent to play volleyball at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Shelby Saporetti, center, was joined by father Michael and mom Deanna Thursday morning in the Lemoore High School Event Center where she signed a letter-of-intent to play volleyball at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Flanked by friends and family, 18-year-old Shelby Saporetti became the latest Tiger athlete to accept an athletic scholarship to a major college. In this case, it’s California State University at Dominguez Hills where the talented athlete will lend her considerable volleyball skills to the Toro’s volleyball team.

The Toros are coached by Jennifer Adeva, the head coach since 2011. This past season the Toros were 9-16 in the CCAA conference.

The Tiger standout is the daughter of Deanna and Michael Saporetti. Deanna is a teacher at Lemoore High School. Volleyball runs in the blood in that family. Shelby has a sister, Nicole, also a standout player with the Tigers.

Shelby is talented in the classroom and carries a 3.8 GPA heading into this week’s graduation ceremony. She was also a first team, All-West Yosemite League selection this past season for a Tiger team that was 14-15 on the year, including finished at 3-7 in the WYL. She was a second-team pick last season.

Saporetti, who has been playing volleyball since the sixth grade was an outside hitter and a defensive specialist for this year’s team. She also led the Tigers in kills this past season and was second in digs.

Saporetti loves the game of volleyball. “I just love the atmosphere and how as a team sport we all work together to achieve a central goal,” she said. “I like how it’s so competitive. I just love the sport and all the skills that are required.”

Why Dominguez Hills? “Out of all the colleges I talked to – she spoke with school from the east coast to Alaska – the reason I chose Dominguez Hills was because of the location. It’s really close to the beach, and it’s close to my sister (Nicole). That’s really important to me because I’m close to my sister.”

She plans to major in communications. “My goal after college is that I’m going to be a pharmaceutical rep,” she said.

The Tigers volleyball coach, Valarie Burkett, was on hand Thursday morning in the school’s Event Center to congratulate her LHS star. “She was born to stand out,” said Burkett. “I remember seeing her as an eighth grader. She always stood out here as a volleyball player and as a student.”

Talented volleyball star signs letter-of-intent to attend Cal State Dominguez Hills