Jasper High Volleyball Player

Words by Justin Hunter | Images by Al Blanton

Jasper High School senior Dayion Johnson dreams of being 2,727 miles away this time next year on Stanford University’s 8,180-acre campus nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley. The 6-foot-tall middle blocker for the Lady Vikings has enforced her will on the volleyball court and prevented hundreds of potential points since joining Jasper’s varsity squad in 2019. 

Johnson was a crucial piece of the Vikings’ 2019 6A State Volleyball championship team. “It was a lot of pressure being a sophomore on that team, but Coach Bobby Daniels believed in me,” she says. “He wanted me to play varsity my freshman year, but I didn’t believe I was good enough.”

Coach Daniels cultivates a championship culture in Jasper that brings out the best in each girl and is the person who initially persuaded Johnson to take up the game of volleyball. Johnson was an uncut gem when she tried out for the girls’ seventh grade team and has been polished into a crown jewel of Viking volleyball.

“Coach Daniels saw potential in me, even when I didn’t see it myself,” Johnson says. “I remember really struggling the first time I stepped onto the volleyball court. Coach came over to me and said four words: ‘Let me teach you.’ Every day since then, he motivates me to be better.”

Johnson’s play on the court is a fusion of elegance and ferocity. Last year, she collected a total of 257 kills, 93 solo blocks, and 157 overall blocks. 

“I am the queen of the net,” Johnson laughs when asked about the importance of her role on the court. “I am the first line of defense. When the opponent rallies by sending the ball over the net, it’s my job to block it.” 

San Francisco is a long way from her home in the Coke Oven community, but Johnson is both determined and ambitious, two qualities found in every Stanford graduate. She hopes to don the cardinal and white of Stanford, the 2019 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Champions, once she hangs up the Lady Vikings black and gold.

“I don’t have a top-five list of colleges that I want to attend,” Johnson says. “I really want to go to Stanford. They have the best volleyball program in the country and their psychology program is ranked number one in the nation. That’s why I want to go there.”

This summer, the 2020 6A Alabama All-State honoree is perfecting her craft at volleyball camps across the nation, as well as getting her face in front of recruiters. Her goal is to lead the Lady Vikings to another Alabama High School State Volleyball Championship in the fall. 

“Dayion is the ultimate team player. She has always put the team first,” says head coach Bobby Daniels. “She is a great teammate and role model to our younger players in the program. She has always been humble, worked hard, and has become one of the most outstanding players in our state. I’m looking forward to this volleyball season being her best yet!” 78