Mattie Weldy always knows exactly where her grandfather is sitting during her matches. He has an Alabama hat on and occasionally an Ole Miss shirt.

“Everyone’s like, ‘Who is the man wearing Ole Miss?’ Right here,” Weldy said, pointing to herself. “That’s my grandfather.”

Before deciding to play volleyball at The University of Alabama, Weldy received offers from other schools. She said she was overwhelmed by some of the schools that offered her a spot.

“My top three were Ole Miss, only because it’s a family school – my grandfather was heartbroken when I chose Alabama – Tennessee was another top one, and Alabama was my third top [choice],” Weldy said.

The Mobile native said she likes playing in Tuscaloosa because the University has given her a new perspective.

“[Mobile] is not really big on sports, except for football, of course,” Weldy said. “We have a lot of football guys … but volleyball is very dead. It’s very hard to get noticed, and coming here, it’s a totally different story being around these girls from California – playing beach, [they’ve] been around volleyball since they were babies – and so that’s a big difference.”

Weldy has done a good job of adjusting to the team, sophomore Sherrill Dahlmann said. The two were club teammates and rivals in high school.

“She’s a very happy person, very positive,” Dahlmann said. “I’m very proud of her for how she’s reacted to stepping up, and she’s just a wonderful person.”

Weldy didn’t see much playing time before the Auburn match on Oct. 2. Since then, she has played a major role at outside hitter.

“At the beginning of the year, I struggled with confidence and just getting to the level of just being … at their level,” Weldy said. “I came from Mobile, so my confidence was really low compared to people who played longer, and I’m not blaming that on it at all, but I finally stepped up my game. My team has really pushed me, and I’m blessed to be in the position I am, and I’m just ready for the future for us.”

Last weekend, Weldy put up new career highs. She matched her career high in kills Friday night with 12 against Texas A&M. She set a new career high in kills Sunday afternoon with 15 against LSU. On top of that, she hit a career-best .522 in that match.

“[She is] a kid that’s been coming on very strong for us about the last three weeks … has really been a solid contributor for us, provides a lot of length, really helps us from a blocking perspective as well but is able to hit such angles that I think it challenges the defense a little bit,” coach Ed Allen said. “[She] put up incredible numbers this past weekend … so [I’m] excited about what she’s able to take off of Krystal [Rivers] and Brittany [Thomas] in terms of carrying the offensive load.”

Alabama will travel to face Georgia and No. 15 Kentucky this weekend. The last time the Crimson Tide played Kentucky, the Wildcats were ranked No. 18 and handed Alabama a 3-1 loss in Foster Auditorium. Still, Dahlmann said the team is optimistic.

“We think we could have a really successful weekend,” Dahlmann said. “Georgia is a game that we should be able to handle pretty easily, and Kentucky, we’ve played them, and I think that we can pull one out with them for sure. I know Mattie’s excited because I know she’s going to have a starting role for that, and I know she’s excited to prove herself even more.”