When Erin Garvey transferred to Guyer from Flower Mound Marcus before the start of last year, it didn’t take her but about a month to be noticed by her new coaching staff.

There was an incident when head coach Jennifer Bramlett was upset with her new player and after a tongue-lashing, word got back to Bramlett that Garvey said her new coach was crazy.

DRC/Al Key

Guyer senior Erin Garvey hugs her dad, Mark Garvey, after signing a letter of intent Wednesday to play volleyball at Nevada.

Garvey’s punishment was having just more than a day to run 10 miles in order to play in the Lady Wildcats’ next match. She split it up over two sessions, but finished it and laid groundwork to one of the most prominent inside jokes in the Guyer volleyball program.

“Starts with crazy, ends with 10 miles,” the saying now goes, but on Tuesday, Garvey was noticed for something for which she can be much prouder.

The senior signed her national letter of intent to play volleyball at the University of Nevada, becoming the first female athlete from Guyer to accept a Division I scholarship.

“It’s really cool,” Garvey said. “The whole school’s about starting traditions and hopefully everybody else on my team will go play in college. … It’s definitely been my dream since I started playing.

“Last year, I bit my nails every day. I just felt kind of lost and didn’t know what I was going to do. When you’re a junior you have to take the SAT and kind of wake up to real life. It’s good to know where I’m going. I’m glad to have it locked down.”

Garvey has made quite a name for herself and the Wildcats’ program since arriving.

The senior was named District 5-4A Most Valuable Player and finished the year with 324 kills, 113 block kills and an incredible .335 attack percentage. She was an integral part of turning a program around that finished 0-12 in district play two years ago, went 12-0 this season and was one match short (Ryan) of not dropping a game in district play. The Lady Wildcats finished 35-8 and were defeated by defending state champion Dumas in the regional semifinal.

Garvey took a handful of visits to Division I schools, including Toledo and Arkansas, and drew interest from South Carolina, Ball State and Louisiana Tech, but once she visited Nevada, she was sold.

“I talked to a lot of people, but once I found Nevada I knew it was my favorite place,” she said. “I knew I didn’t have to see another school.”

Garvey did put some thought into her decision though, saying she talked to many players to get their opinions of the coaching staff and also realized the team had a large number of seniors.

“They have a lot of seniors in their program,” Garvey said. “When a program has a lot of seniors it means they want to stay. All of their seniors have stayed, even the walk-ons. I wanted to make sure the girls liked it and they’re all really cool and my kind of personality, so I’ll fit in there.”

It’s that “bubbly personality” that Bramlett will miss most next year when Garvey’s gone.

Bramlett said that whenever she heard talking or laughing, she knew Garvey wasn’t far away.

“Her outspoken nature is probably what’s going to be hardest to replace,” Bramlett said. “She’s pretty much always talking. We’ll definitely miss that from a leadership standpoint, but even just on the bus you hear her in the back — it’s her and whoever else singing or doing whatever they’re doing. I’ll miss that.”

Although she knows how to have fun when the situation calls for it, Bramlett said Garvey’s work ethic is what set her apart from hundreds of other girls with similar athletic talent.

“She’s athletic, obviously, but she also puts the time in,” Bramlett said. “Any time the gym is open, she’s up here playing, but also in club volleyball. She’s really put a lot of time into that [club] and she goes to clinics all the time. She’s just really earned it.”

Garvey’s the first to admit that her transfer from the tradition-rich volleyball program at Marcus to a new, at-the-time struggling, program wasn’t easy to swallow early on.

“I think when I first came to [Guyer], I was really stubborn and kind of pessimistic about coming to a school with their record when I came from [Marcus] where Division I athletes graduate every year, and I came to Guyer thinking, ‘Oh no, my mom took me away for this?’ But now I’m here and I couldn’t be happier.

“I’ll miss all the girls. They’re all my best friends. I’ll miss my coaches a lot. It was an up-and-down two years for me but they’re [the coaches] like my best friends too. They never gave up on me and they taught me a lot.”

She’ll definitely be in a good place for those friends to visit. Garvey was quick to point out that location was a big factor in her choosing Nevada, as was one particular Western Athletic Conference foe.

“Lake Tahoe is like 10 minutes away [from Reno], and since I was a little girl that was my favorite place to vacation,” Garvey said. “Also, I’ve never been to Hawaii in my life. My dad has, but he never takes me. He says it’s the coolest place. I’m not going to lie, that trip to Hawaii was definitely a big point in me signing. I’ll take those trips.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com .