Volleyball
Favorite athlete: Gabby Douglas and Harper Murray.
Favorite team: Nebraska women’s volleyball.
Favorite memory competing in sports: Going to my first AAU Tournament in York and staying in the hotel.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When I ran into the bleachers. It was very embarrassing. I was perfectly fine, but it made a loud noise and everyone was asking if I was OK.
Music on playlist: Drake.
Future plans: I plan to attend a 4-year college and study pre-med or biology.
Words to live by: “(It takes) patience and determination. Without either of those, you can’t play this sport.”
One goal before turning 30: Graduating college and becoming a pediatrician.
One thing people don’t know about me: I speak three languages.
By GORDON GLANTZ
There was once a time when the mere mention of the Bensalem girls’ volleyball team was almost like the punchline of a running joke.
But that joke is past its expiration date.
While coach Violet DiMichele has changed the vibe, she has been able to build around the likes of mercurial senior outside hitter Ashley Tarr.
While the senior has been putting up dazzling statistics (double doubles in digs and kills) and is drawing rave reviews around the league, it only tells part of story for the recently crowned Homecoming Queen.
“She has been a huge part of our culture,” said DiMichele, who is in her second year as the varsity coach and fourth in the program. “She is an insane volleyball player. Her stats are insane. She catches a lot of eyes. She has made such an impact on the team and the whole program. She made first-team All-SOL last year and probably will again this year. This year is the first year we are pushing for a playoff spot – ever – so she is part of making Bensalem volleyball history. She is playing a very big role in that process.”
The sense of being part of something bigger, part of making history, is not lost on Tarr.
“This is our first time really doing something, and it feels great,” she said. “They never really recognized us in the past because we hadn’t really been a good team.”
An Alternate Route
Although she prefers listening to Drake – and likely never heard of the Grateful Dead and the line: “What a long, strange trip it’s been” – Tarr can’t help but take a snapshot of where she was a few years ago, socially and athletically, and compare and contrast it to where she is now.
A transfer into Bensalem in October of her freshman year, she came from a small private school (Bensalem Christian Academy).
“When I first transferred, I didn’t know anyone,” said Tarr. “It was during the pandemic. When I went in, everyone was in their little corner and covered with masks. I was very shy, too, so it wasn’t easy making friends, but Bensalem is a nice environment and everyone was very kind. I started making friends, basically, toward the middle to the end of the year.”
Fast forward to her senior year, and Tarr was not only nominated for the Homecoming Court, but was named the Homecoming Queen Friday night.
“I was very excited (to be nominated) and it really helped me sprout and get myself more involved with the school and, shockingly, I won Homecoming Queen,” said Tarr.
And if she had not transferred?
“I would not be having the full high school experience, to be honest,” she said, adding that her reason for the transfer was to follow her two older brothers, both of whom had positive experiences at Bensalem.
Immediate Impact
Although Tarr had been playing volleyball since fifth grade, beginning her odyssey at her original school, she did not have high expectations for herself as a newcomer.
“When I first came in my sophomore year, there was a JV side (of the gym) and a varsity side for tryouts,” said Tarr. “I was new, so I just went straight to the JV side. Five minutes into practice, the coach goes, ‘I want you practicing on the other side.’ So, I went to the varsity side.”
She still remained humble, hoping for just a little bit of varsity playing time.
When the first scrimmage came around, she was starting.
And she has been starting ever since.
All the while, Tarr honed her skills at the AAU level.
“It helps a lot,” she said. “The girls I go against in AAU, a lot of them are D1 commits and D2 commits. It’s very, very fast-paced and shows me more what college volleyball will look like. It also helps me move my feet more. In high school volleyball, I can sometimes not have quick reaction times. AAU definitely helped with my reaction time.”
Feeling Gratitude
The third of Evangeline and Anthony Tarr’s four children, Tarr comes from an athletic family (one of her older brothers played basketball at Liberty University and her father played soccer in his native Africa).
She acknowledged her dad for helping to get her to where she is today.
“He has always come to my games and has always been there, always supporting me,” she said. “Whenever I would get down on myself, he would be there. It was never like he was hard on me, but he wanted me to be at my best.”
Interestingly, Tarr says she also has taken pointers from the Nebraska volleyball team, which she has been a fan of well before high school.
“I have been watching them since I have been in seventh grade,” said Tarr. “They really show what a team should be like, and it gives me more confidence and shows me how I should play the game.”
Tarr also feels that the player-coach relationship she has built with DiMichele has gone a long way toward making her the player she is today.
“I feel very comfortable with her, and I feel like I need to be comfortable with my coach,” said Tarr. “If I wasn’t comfortable with her, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I can go to her and talk to about anything.”
DiMichele, for her part, couldn’t ask for a better situation with her standout.
“I just love Ashley,” the Owls’ coach said. “I have worked with her for a couple of years now on the volleyball team. She is always very supportive of her teammates and is always looking to get better. She comes to me all the time with corrections that she can work on. She is always willing to help her teammates. Whether they are doing well or having an off day, she is always there to make them feel comfortable and build their confidence.”
Center of the Universe
Softball, soccer and track are all sports that Tarr has sampled. She currently plays basketball and plans to stick with it.
Still, there is no doubt what comes first and foremost.
“A lot of girls on the team have a real passion for volleyball, and I think that’s a big reason why we are doing so much better,” said DiMichele. “They all genuinely want to be there. They want to play and want to win. For Ashley, it’s her whole lifestyle.”
And if that means playing through pain, like the shoulder injury and sprained thumb she has dealt with this season, then she is willing to do it.
Tarr sees volleyball as a sport where it’s mind over matter.
“Without focus, you can’t do much with this sport,” she said. “That can take a toll on people. When I became more patient with myself, I started doing a little better.”
And it is a lifestyle that Tarr looks to continue at the next level.
“It’s going pretty well,” she said of the college recruiting process. “Coaches have been reaching out.”
Said DiMichele: “I know she is definitely interested, and she has had her eye on a couple of schools, and some schools have reached out to her. She is getting highlight reels together.”
Considering the Bensalem senior wants to major in pre-med or biology with the goal of becoming a pediatrician, Tarr, who considers any grade less than an A a disappointment, has also had to weigh volleyball programs against schools that meet her academic needs.
Her top choices are IUP, NCAT (North Carolina Agricultural and Technological State University) and Pitt.
“When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian because of my dog,” Tarr said. “Then, I started with children. I took child development, and I babysit a lot. I just wanted to a pediatrician.”
That compassion comes across with younger players as well.
Said DiMichele: “We run camps over the summer, and she always makes friends with the younger girls and middle schoolers to try and show them the ropes a little bit and get their confidence up to start a new sport.”
A sport that is developing a new culture at Bensalem, thanks – at least in part – to Tarr.
(Action photo courtesy of Jon Skut. To view a gallery of phtos, click here: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f214243981)
