Niceville's Farrell chooses The Citadel

By ADAM PRUIETT

Northwest Florida Daily News

315-4421 | adamp@nwfdailynews.com

NICEVILLE - Rachael Farrell isn't one to shy away from a challenge.  

So when it came time to make her college choice, Farrell selected an institute of higher learning that demands excellence seemingly 24 hours a day every day. Luckily, excelling is just about all Farrell's ever done on a volleyball court, so she's got that aspect down pat.

Farrell, who is a senior at the Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College and was an All-Area performer for Niceville High, will play volleyball for The Citadel, a military college.  

Farrell earned a prestigious The Citadels Scholar Scholarship, where winners are selected by the college's Faculty Scholarship Committee based on academic achievement, leadership potential, a writing sample and a personal on-campus interview. Only six of the up to 18 students who receive the scholarship can reside from outside of South Carolina, where The Citadel is located.

Farrell had been talking to Division I The Citadel about an athletic scholarship. While she doesn't need that anymore thanks to the Scholar award, Farrell is still definitely going to play volleyball. She visited the campus multiple times and hit it off with coach Carolyn Geiger.

"I feel like I fit in well with the team, and the school is just great academically," said Farrell, whose dad Ken graduated from The Citadel.

Farrell capped her Niceville volleyball career by helping the Eagles to a 27-3 finish which included an unblemished run through the District 1-5A regular season and the district tournament.

"We ended very strong, and I don't think I would have wanted to graduate any other year," the 5-foot-11 hitter said.

Farrell knows she's entering a college where accountability better be your way of life. The camaraderie she'll feel won't just take place on the volleyball court.

"It's really a body of one," Farrell said of the student population and the shared discipline and ambitions. "We're all working together for the same goal."