Sheri Davis, the Table Setter
The Davis File
Favorite Food: Chocolate chip pancakes
Favorite Movie: Pride & Prejudice
Favorite TV Show: Charmed
Favorite Author: Clive Cussler
Favorite Artist: Michael Buble
Favorite Vacation Spot: Key West
Choice of Superpower: Healing powers
In the game of 8-ball pool, the shooter’s main objective of depositing all of his balls into the pockets doesn’t merely come from having a perfect aim. The shooter also plays strategically by using the cue ball to set up for higher percentage shots. Senior setter Sheri Davis, the Charlotte 49ers women’s volleyball team captain, effectively plays multiple roles on the court as she directs the ball to her teammates and keeps her opponents off balance with her own attacks.
After achieving her first 1,000-assist season and a career-high .351 attack percentage last year, Davis has experienced a slight drop in her numbers this year with her assists average going from 9.55 to 8.32 per set and her attack percentage falling to .288. Davis is ranked eighth in the Atlantic-10 in assists per set and continues to be a key player on offense with 98 kills, ranked third on the team.
Sheri was originally a hitter at Evangelical Christian High School, where she played alongside her older sister Allison, who was the team’s setter at the time. Allison, two years older than Sheri, went off to play for the N.C. State Wolfpack, where she was anointed captain in her freshman year.
Meanwhile, Sheri inherited Allison’s role and transitioned into the setter position while maintaining a partial role as a third hitter.
“When a setter is front row, usually that means you have two other hitters you need to worry about, but with me, it’s technically three hitters,” said Davis of how the additional attacker provides an element of surprise to opposing defenses. “It just trips up the blockers, trips up the defense.”
After quite some time, the opposing defenses become more aware of Davis when she plays the hitter role and make adjustments to defend her attacks.
“Teams scout me, and they say, ‘[Sheri] hits to [area] 1,’ so they’re going to come in and jump on me,” said Davis.
As a result, Davis counters by making her own adjustments, seeing where the opponents can be exposed on the court.
“We watch film, and it’s mainly the first couple of points in the game for me to really see where my spots are,” said Davis. “Because they scouted me, they’re going to scoot over and be ready for my hit, but then, I can just turn and hit the other way.”
Sheri notes that while she learned the role of a setter, she was able to make herself more valuable by creating her own identity, especially when she was often compared to Allison.
“When she graduated, it was hard for me to find my niche because everyone was like, ‘Ally did this, and Ally did that,’” said Davis. “It was very hard for me to establish my own identity because they kept comparing me to my sister.”
After being a hitter for the first two years, Davis took over as a setter, which required more accountability and reliability on her part.
“It was tough because being a hitter, I’m able to see the court and see where to hit,” said Davis of her transition. “As a setter, I’m kind of behind the scenes, getting people the ball. I was always upset at myself because I wasn’t getting my hitters a good enough ball to hit, but it also gave me an advantage because it made me a very aggressive setter.”
Davis garnered All-State and All-Area accolades and helped her team to a couple state titles prior to her arrival at Charlotte. Whereas colleges usually recruit players through scouting or close connections, Davis, a Cape Coral, Fla. native, actually took the first step before she was approached by the school.
Tara Taylor, one of the assistant coaches at the time, contributed to the recruitment of Davis. Taylor, who was also from Davis’ hometown, managed to link Davis to Charlotte, which led to Davis being one of three members of Charlotte Head Coach Chris Redding’s first recruitment class.
While remaining relatively close to Allison, who was still playing for N.C. State at the time, Sheri was intrigued by what Charlotte had to offer.
Davis played sparingly in her first year with the Niners, where she appeared in just 32 sets, recording six assists and three kills.
Davis, still learning the trades of being a setter, acknowledges her boost in confidence during a tournament that spring, when she was asked to lead the group in a five-set battle.
“We had a tournament at Wake Forest, and it was my first time setting [in college], and I was the only setter,” said Davis of her most memorable volleyball moment. “It was a five-game war, and I finally remembered getting confidence in myself and Coach [Redding] being really proud of me.”
Davis took over the starting position in her sophomore year and became an impact player as she recorded 925 assists, averaging 8.56 per set, and posted 135 kills.
Davis became a focal point of the offense last season, when she totaled 1,012 assists, becoming the 21st player in school history to reach four figures in assists, and led the team with a .351 attack percentage, due to the significant drop in attack errors committed. Davis improved her kills-to-attack errors ratio from 2.6 to 5.55.
Davis continues to be a viable asset on offense this season, ranking second on the team with a .288 attack percentage and third with 98 kills. Davis is playing a larger role on the offensive end, accounting for 15.1 percent of the team’s total kills, after she had 9.3 percent of the kills output last year. Davis is on pace to set a new high in kills this year. Although her attack percentage is slightly lower this year, Davis remains one of the top hitting setters in the A-10. Davis leads all setters in the conference with 1.75 kills per set and 229 total attacks.
| Name | Team | K | K/Set | Att. | Ass. | Ass./Set |
| Sheri Davis | Charlotte | 98 | 1.75 | 229 | 466 | 8.32 |
| Samantha Selsky | Dayton | 62 | 1.22 | 145 | 532 | 10.43 |
| Aubree Smith | Xavier | 55 | 1.02 | 133 | 553 | 10.24 |
| Taylor Jones | Duquesne | 56 | 1.00 | 139 | 600 | 10.71 |
| Cassie Clarke | Saint Louis | 35 | 0.80 | 96 | 403 | 9.16 |
| Kourtney Clark | La Salle | 37 | 0.60 | 138 | 496 | 8.00 |
| Katie Crosby | George Washington | 25 | 0.47 | 79 | 552 | 10.42 |
| Annie Nelson | Rhode Island | 18 | 0.37 | 54 | 432 | 8.82 |
| Tiffany Connatser | Temple | 17 | 0.34 | 56 | 487 | 9.74 |
| Sara Konkel | Fordham | 16 | 0.34 | 34 | 264 | 5.62 |
This year, Davis plays an additional role on the team; that is, serving as the team captain. Davis points out that a part of her duties as a captain requires her to maintain team chemistry, but she accounts most of it to how her teammates are able to mesh together.
“Our team is the closest we’ve ever been this year,” said Davis of the team’s close-knit relationship. “A lot of that comes from everybody getting along off the court. While I have a role in making everything work together so that we can be stress-free on the court, a lot of that comes from the girls, and everyone is mature adults on the team.”
Davis feels that team chemistry has gradually improved over the years.
“When I came here freshman year, there were clashing beliefs on the team,” said Davis. “Throughout the years, the captains of each year have kind of done different things, and they molded us to be better each year. From the captains last year to the captains this year including me, Amanda [Videmsek], and Bianca [Rouse], we’re taking what we learned last year and transferring it to what we know the team needs this year.”
In addition to maintaining team chemistry on the court, Davis states that playing in a consistent manner dictates how the team communicates with each other.
“To get everyone in sync, I can’t have up-and-down games,” said Davis. “I have to be solid the entire time, and if I’m not doing that, then everyone has an excuse not to do that. Communication is mainly leading by example.”
Volleyball runs in the family for Davis, who was greatly influenced by her father. With her father as one of the coaches, Davis credits him for her upbringing.
“He has always been there to encourage me and do whatever he needs for me to get better,” said Davis of her father. “He hasn’t treated me like his daughter on the court. He has treated me like a player to make me better.”
Davis considers her parents as the biggest influences in her life. Davis recalls struggling at an early age and having her mother there every step of the way.
“She was always there, pushing me and encouraging me to do the best that I can be,” said Davis of her mother.
While volleyball has taken up a large part of her life, Davis, a public health major and math minor, is determined to continue with her academics in graduate school, where she’ll pursue a master’s degree in epidemiology and biostatistics.
Feeding balls to her teammates and contributing on offense with her own kills, Davis looks to lead the Niners to another conference tournament and finally sink the 8-ball in.
3-1 Green Light 