One of the four goals of The University of Alabama is to “develop a University-wide emphasis on leadership,” and athletics is no exception.

As freshmen on the Alabama volleyball team, Sierra Wilson and Laura Steiner have taken the previous statement to heart.

“I try not to view myself as a freshman,” Wilson said. “Being a setter, you have to be very mature, because you’re directing the plays. I try to just take each point as it is and try to play as an experienced player, even though I’m not.”

Standing at 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall respectively, Wilson and Steiner said they had two options growing up: basketball or volleyball.

Both had role models from an early age that played an influential part in their decision and, later on, their love for the game.

For Wilson, it was seeing Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor win their first gold medal the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

The pair is now one of the most well-known beach volleyball duos in the world, winning three gold medals and three world-championships in their 11 years together.

For Steiner though, the pair that introduced her to the sport was slightly less famous on the world-scale.

“I watched my sisters play in high school,” Steiner said. “I was that little kid that beat the ball up against the wall and hit people in the face but I had never really played before that.”

Steiner was in sixth grade when she watched her older sisters, Meredith and Andrea, take the court. That was when she decided to try it for herself.

Since their high school days of playing for club and school volleyball teams, the two have become irreplaceable assets to Alabama’s squad.

This year’s team is made up of nine new players and six veterans. Head coach Ed Allen said this gives the Tide a lot of room for growth.

“Sierra Wilson is continuing to grow as a leader and a quarterback of this team. She’s got a long way to go, but she’s in a better place than she was two weeks ago,” Allen said. “I’m really pleased with Laura Steiner’s performance as a freshman on the outside. She’s given us a great deal of consistency and really exploiting the block quite a bit with her offense.”

On Monday, Wilson was named SEC Freshman of the Week and currently leads the SEC with 11.42 assists per set this season.

Wilson was named to the All-Tournament team in the Elon Phoenix Classic, the Beanpot Classic, and both were named to the All-Tournament team in the Hampton Inn Bama Bash, where Steiner was named MVP.

The two came to Alabama, both from out-of-state, after a long recruiting process, but after seeing a number of schools, each fell in love with the campus and the volleyball program.

Steiner said she was very interested in the thought of building the program back up after the team’s 11-20 season last year.

Wilson and Steiner are off to a fast start and have a great deal to offer the Tide in years to come.