TAMPA, Fla. — This season the Carrollwood Day School Patriots are the team to beat in 3A and 6’1 Freshman Outside hitter Lydia Chinchar is a big reason why.

Lydia starting playing club volleyball when she was six years old, her entire family is heavily involved in the sport. Her father Doug is her head coach at CDS and mom Sarah is an assistant and older sister Naomi is the teams top setter.

"Surprisingly, I just love a nice high ball to the outside, just throw it up there and I will bang away", Lydia replied when asked what her favorite set was.

And bang away she has, the Patriots Freshman leads the Bay Area in kills for a CDS team ranked number one in the state in 3A and recently got nationally ranked in the top 25.

It has been a great start to the season for Lydia and her teammates, winning fourteen of the teams first fifteen matches and earlier this season the Patriots Freshman made the all tournament team at the prestigious Nike Tournament Of Champions where CDS came in second out of 86 teams.

The sky is the limit for this outstanding student athlete who would like to pursue a career as an Elementary School teacher after her playing days are done.

Congratulations Lydia on being picked as this weeks Athlete Of The Week!