Annika Hester enjoyed a standout season on the Oregon State volleyball team this fall. Hester, a 2021 Falmouth High graduate, received West Coast Conference first-team honors. Photo by Kane Nguyen/Oregon State athletics

Annika Hester wanted a change.

The Falmouth native was on the renowned volleyball team at the University of San Diego, but she was getting frustrated. She wasn’t receiving the playing time she anticipated, nor did she enjoy her role.

She entered the transfer portal after the 2023 season and soon found an intriguing suitor in Oregon State, a program looking to establish a winning culture, and a team in search of the player who could help build it.

“The coaches immediately kind of laid out the red carpet for me,” she said. “I fell in love with the program. … I just felt really wanted.”

As the season went on, Hester showed why Oregon State was interested in her. The 6-foot-4 graduate student thrived as a centerpiece in the Oregon State lineup, leading the Beavers in points (389.5) and kills (340) and finishing second in blocks (75). It culminated in her being named a first-team all-West Coast Conference selection on Dec. 2, along with teammate Lauren Rumel — the first pair of Oregon State players to receive first-team conference honors since 1990.

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Her coach, Lindsey Behonick, said the recognition proved everyone saw Hester’s skill and ability.

“I knew she was a really good player and I knew she’d have a bigger role for us than her previous school,” she said. “But I didn’t know how big of an impact she would have. She had 25% of the team’s total attacks, so she (had) a big role for us.”

This is what people in Maine envisioned when Hester dominated for the Navigators from 2017-19 and earned a full-ride scholarship to San Diego, a perennial NCAA tournament contender that made the national semifinals in 2022.

Annika Hester, a 2021 Falmouth High graduate, thrived this season at Oregon State after transferring from San Diego. Photo by Nicholas Lin/Oregon State athletics

“She undoubtedly was the best female volleyball player to ever come out of Maine,” said Larry Nichols, her coach at Falmouth. “She could hit the ball as hard as you could imagine. And then she started adding to her versatility with placements and rolls and tips. Just a treat to watch.”

With San Diego, however, Hester found it hard to get regular playing time. She appeared in 25 matches over two seasons — she sat out 2022 as a redshirt — and made the decision that she needed a change.

“After my second year there, when we made the final four, I was really excited to have a bigger role after redshirting,” she said. “But I didn’t get that. It was a pretty frustrating season.”

Hester considered other WCC teams, including Pepperdine, and also considered Clemson and Houston. But Oregon State, seeking a player who could help continue the program’s upward climb after winning five matches in 2021, seven in 2022 and 11 in 2023, jumped at the chance to add Hester.

“She heard the message that we’re building something special here at Oregon State, and we care a lot about not just Annika the volleyball player, but Annika the person,” said Behonick, who took over after the 2022 season. “When she stepped on campus, she and her mom instantly felt it.”

Once the season arrived, Behonick saw what Nichols had seen years earlier.

“Her arm (stands out), how fast it is and how she can just terminate pretty much at any time,” she said. “And then also her blocking. She has good eye work and good shaping with her hands.”

Oregon State volleyball player Annika Hester records a block during a match against San Francisco this season. Photo by Nicholas Lin/Oregon State athletics

Moving to Corvallis brought out the best in Hester. On the court, Behonick saw the fiery competitor, and the locked-in focus that she’s shown since her Falmouth days.

“There were a couple of games where she would look our setter in the eye, be like ‘Set me the ball,’ and then she would just kill it for us,” Behonick said. “There was this one moment where she was running back up to sub back in, and she looked at me in the eyes and she’s like ‘We’ve got this, we’re going to do this. We’re going to win this game.'”

But Hester also learned how to give seriousness a rest. Admittedly hard on herself and her play, Hester focused this season on instead brushing off her struggles, and enjoying each opportunity to play.

“It’s just volleyball. It’s just a sport. It’s important to take it seriously, but you can’t put so much pressure on it that it’s life or death,” she said. “I was learning to just stay in the moment, and be like ‘Wow, I’m living my dream right now.'”

Her coach noticed it, and said that attitude helped Hester jell with a turned-over roster half-filled with freshmen. The Beavers brought back only four of 14 players from 2023.

“She’s light and fun to be around,” Behonick said. “And she’s competitive. She has a balance of all that.”

Hester has one more year of eligibility, and said she’s already eager to help the team improve on this year’s 10-18 record. She thinks they have the pieces to do it.

“This year could be a breakout year,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to this year. … There’s only up from here.”