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A leg injury that sidelined senior setter Jade Olivo for the latter part of her junior season didn’t stop her from pursuing a goal of reaching the college level.
It pushed her.
“I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and accept the fact that I was injured,” Olivo said. “I never stopped going to therapy, I went three times a week and really just pushed myself to get back.”
Once the senior got back, she didn’t miss a beat. Olivo played a key role in the Lady Rattler Volleyball program over the last two seasons for San Marcos, finishing up her career with 18 blocks, 22 aces, 187 kills, 454 digs and 461 assists. Olivo earned impressive honors like 26-6A Academic All-District and the National Girls and Women in Sports Perseverance awards during her career.
The relationship between head coach Michelle Moreno and Olivo dates back to when Moreno coached the senior’s sister four years prior to her even stepping foot on the San Marcos campus. For Moreno, she already knew what type of player she was getting with Jade due to the relationship she had built with the family.
“She was in fifth grade, just watching her grow and seeing her around the gym, I’m going to miss her. She’s a great kid. It goes beyond the X’s and O’s. She gives everything that she’s got and you gotta love a kid like that. She’s very passionate, she’s a go-getter,” Moreno said. “I expressed that the injury didn’t hold her back and that’s when she realized, ‘I want to play in college.’ She fought for it and I’m so proud of her and her accomplishments. Just her fight and the passion, I know that’s going to take her a long way.”
Olivo’s completed her comeback during National Signing Day on Wednesday, inking a letter of intent with Texas Lutheran.
“I was really excited to start the next chapter of my life because I knew once I got injured that I wanted to further my career,” Olivo said.
Next to Olivo in the San Marcos Performing Arts Center sat senior tight end Matt Dixon.
Dixon’s exceptional blocking ability and short-route catches don’t always show up in the stat sheet, but his impact on the field caught the eye of Texas A&M-Kingsville’s coaching staff.
Dixon was inspired by his grandfather, who passed away in 2015, igniting the tight end to keep pushing forward.
“Matt, you’re going big things, great things,” Dixon’s grandfather told him.
The senior tight end has lived up to the expectations surrounding him as he signed with the Javelinas on Wednesday. He knows that what he was taught in San Marcos played an explicit role in his success on the field.
“It just means a lot because I know where I’m coming from. And my coaches have really done a lot and my parents, they really just brought me up ever since being on varsity,” Dixon said. “It just takes a lot of hard work and I trusted in their process.”
Matt’s father, Nathaniel Dixon, stood out cheering for his son as he signed his letter of intent to play college football at the next level.
“I just want to tell my son that (your) grandpa’s looking down on you and I want to tell you that I love you and that your dad will always be with you,” Nathaniel said as tears ran down his face. “You’ll go on to do bigger and better things, son. But I’ve watched you grow up from a baby to a young man and that you’ve always made dad proud.”
