Christi Laite has made a name for herself for the UNC Wilmington volleyball team, but she isn’t resting on her laurels.

Laite, a two time Second-Team All-CAA selection in 2011 and 2012, was named to the Preseason-CAA First-Team for this year. The senior has been one of the highlights for a UNCW volleyball team that has struggled in recent years.

However, UNCW had long been on Laite’s radar for college as she has a history with current coach Amy Bambenek.

Laite started playing volleyball in eighth grade, and along with staring on her high school team, she played club and attended camps.

“Coach Amy was a court coach of mine when she was still a coach at George Washington University, and she saw a lot of potential in me my sophomore year of high school,” Laite said. “When she came to UNCW, she started recruiting me and I came here and really loved the campus and the community.”

Entering the season Laite had her eyes set on helping the team and Coach Bambenek achieve success.

“Our preseason goals were to win our conference tournament, and win our home tournament,” Laite said. “We won three out of four of them, so I’m proud of us accomplishing that. We want to be an above .500 team, and make it to the conference playoffs.”

Laite also has aspirations for herself as a player, including earning a spot on the All-CAA team again come the end of the season.

“It’s something I hold near and dear to my heart,” Laite said of being previously named to the All-Conference teams. “Not only does it say statistically I’m holding up against the other great players in our conference, but it also means that the coaches in the conference respect me as a player.”

The Severna Park, Md. native has already entrenched herself in the UNCW volleyball record books. Her 1029 career kills is currently good enough for fifth in program history.

She is also currently a top 10 performer in the conference in hitting percentage, points, and kills, ranking ninth, sixth, and sixth, respectively, as of Oct. 15th.

Off the court, Laite exemplifies the definition of a student-athlete, as she is an Honors College student majoring in biology.

“Coming into college I knew I wanted to major in a science, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do chemistry or biology,” she said. “I knew I had an interest in the medical field, and I knew that UNCW had strong programs in both, so that definitely added to my reason for coming here.”

Despite the challenges, she has managed to find a balance between volleyball and academics.

“It’s challenging at times trying to balance school, and we travel so much, so that is hard for someone who is dedicated to academics,” Laite said. “It’s frustrating at times, but it’s worth it. I’ve made lifelong friends and you can’t replace that with a regular college experience.

“All of the laughs we’ve had together. It’s a really great group of girls on this team. We all get along pretty well. Road trips are always a good time. We all connect on and off the court. I don’t really have a favorite memory; it’s more the friendships I’ve made.”

The Seahawks currently sit at 12-7 this season, including a 1-4 mark in the CAA, as they enter the heart of their conference schedule.

They’ll look to get back in the winning column on Friday when they host James Madison at Hanover Hall.