The Journal

Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Journal File Photo Webster Volleyball phenom Crystal Shelton goes for a dig Oct. 15, 2004 at Grant Gymnasium. Shelton, a junior co-captain, is on pace to break numerous Webster volleyball records.

Peggy Shelton won't ever brag about her daughter, but she is a proud mom. For years, she's watched Crystal brutalize volleyball opponents leaving their wrists red and swollen. Spike after crushing spike, the smile on mom's face widens.

Crystal has given her mom plenty to smile about recently. After just two seasons she is already second all-time on Webster's career kill list. A torrid pace which, if she maintained, will easily place her at the top of the list by season's end.

"Her father and I are most proud of her effort and work ethic," Peggy Shelton said. " She is a tremendous athlete and is very blessed."

Crystal Shelton's passion for athletics began at age four when she first played T-ball. T-ball, it turns out was not enough of a challenge for the youngster, and after games she would ask her mom, "when is someone going to pitch to me?" It was then that Crystal realized, like every American, there was no future in T-ball.

Shortly after, she found volleyball, and her instant passion was not a surprise. Like mother, like daughter. Peggy Shelton played volleyball in college on a scholarship to Mid-America Nazarene University and her love for the game was apparently genetic. By age 10, playing volleyball with girls her own age became too easy for Crystal. She began playing in leagues with her older sister and players two years older than she was. It was then that her development as a dominant player began.

By the time Shelton entered high school her devotion to the game of volleyball had not wavered and the decision whether to play volleyball or softball was an easy one. Volleyball was in her blood, and with the support from her parents and the guidance of Pattonville High School Head Coach Terry Funderburke, the game became as common as breathing.

"Crystal was accepted from day one as a leader and a team player," Funderburke said. "She came to our program at a great time and she fit right in with everyone."

For Shelton, her first two years of high school level volleyball was the beginning of a learning curve, which would peak her junior season when she blossomed as a dominant player. Peggy Shelton, attributed a lot of her daughter's success to what she learned from Funderburke.

Continued...

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