Class of 2029: Haley Herndon, volleyball player and sports communicator

This story is part of a series introducing some of our newest Panthers.

August 29, 2025 at 10:32am

Volleyball player Haley Herndon doesn’t believe in holding back.

Whether she’s on the court or in the classroom, Herndon holds herself to a high standard.

All throughout high school, the native Texan played volleyball at her school and through the Houston Skyline, one of the top ranked volleyball clubs in the country. Herndon received the Academic All-State honors twice and her school team finished in third place at the state tournament both her junior and senior years.

Through her seasons at the Houston Skyline Volleyball Club, Herndon was part of a team that won six National Qualifiers in the Open division; the team was ranked first in the country multiple times according to various national polls.

Haley Herndon in high school volleyball uniform — Herndon celebrated reaching 1,000 volleyball "kills" — a successful point that is unreturned by the opposing team.

Meanwhile, Herndon took seven AP classes, including world history, human geography, U.S. history and art. She earned an AP Scholar Award for her scores on the exams.

Her senior year, Herndon was selected to compete in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ annual state art competition. Hundreds of students across the state participated in the competition, and Herndon emerged with top finishes in two divisions. She placed fifth for the pencil drawing competition and sixth for overall portfolio.

She graduated from Concordia Lutheran High School with a 4.3 GPA.

“My goal was always to have a GPA above a four,” Herndon says. “I always played volleyball, but I also pushed really hard on academics. I told myself, ‘Why not stress academics? Why not put in the hard work?’”

Playing for the Panthers

When one of Herndon’s teammates committed to play volleyball at FIU, Herndon began to learn about the university, its women’s volleyball team and student life. She was sold.

At the Triple Crown Volleyball National Invitation Tournament, Herndon met women’s volleyball Associate Head Coach Terrence Robertson.

Herndon introduced herself. “I never once thought he would recruit me,” she recalls.

But shortly after, Robertson reached out to Herndon and requested a meeting. “I was over the moon,” Herndon says. “I ran downstairs and told my mom. I think I had 26 offers coming out of high school, but I wanted FIU.”

“FIU is the place to be,” she adds. “There’s no place to live like Miami. And if you’re not at FIU, you’re missing out.”

She committed to FIU with gusto. She began at FIU this past summer as a communication arts major. Herndon has been practicing and training with the volleyball team ever since.

Is FIU everything she hoped it would be?

“Honestly, FIU went above and beyond,” Herndon says. “When I call home, I tell my family, ‘This is the best!’. I see the sunrise every day and the palm trees. It’s a joy. We have a lot of support from our athletic advisors and coaches. The coaches genuinely care about the girls and make us feel like we’re a family.”

Haley Herndon signing to play volleyball at FIU during National Signing Day

Sports & communications

Herndon says she plans to eventually use her degree to get into sports communication, potentially working for ESPN.

She comes from a family of athletes (many of them baseball players) and sports fans.

“We have three TVs in our living room, and when its college football season, we watch every game,” she says. “Sports is our life. It would be cool to do communications about sports.”

As for now, she says it’s all about playing volleyball and getting a good education.

Herndon is excited for the rest of the week, not only because it's the first week of the semester, but because the Panther volleyball team will hit the court at Duke University as they play against the University of Houston on Aug. 29.