Athlete Of The Week: Summer Tackwood

ELK GROVE (CBS13) - She excels on and off the court. Summer Tackwood maintains a 3.6 GPA at Monterey Trail High School, and the volleyball player hopes to lead her team back to the playoffs.

Her game started long before her years at Monterey Trail High School. Tackwood says she fell in love with volleyball in 5th grade.

"Teamwork, you have to rely on everyone to get job done, work as one," said Tackwood about why she loves volleyball.

She plays outside hitter and hopes to lead her team back to the playoffs.

"I have the most experience on team. I can keep them calm, let them know everything is gonna be ok," said Tackwood.

She works just as hard on and off the court and maintains a 3.6 GPA.

Tackwood credits her coach for stressing the importance of academics and encouraging everyone on the team to be scholar athletes.

"School comes first, don't perform well, you don't play," said Tackwood. "It drives me to do well and continue to play."

She has high hopes for the team as they begin the season.

"We look great! Each year we improve and we've improved a lot," said Tackwood.