Molly Slayton had already won the respect of College of the Redwoods volleyball head coach Petra Lorenzi long before she decided to join the program.Slayton, a 2022 Del Norte High graduate, will play for the Corsairs this fall, completing her comeback from a couple of devastating injuries that saw her miss much of her high school career.The multi-sport standout, who also competed for the Warriors in basketball, softball and golf, suffered torn ACLs in her sophomore and senior years.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');But the setbacks appear to have made her more determined than ever, and Lorenzi is excited about the addition for a number of reasons.“She’s just a tough kid,” said the CR coach, who is a former Warrior herself and is now in her sixth year in charge of the Corsairs. “She’s had two knee surgeries and she still wants to play.”Slayton admits the second ACL tear was tough to take, but that the setbacks have made her mentally stronger as she gets ready for the jump to the collegiate level and college life.Her older brother Anthony also suffered a bad knee injury around the same time, tearing his ACL and partially tearing his MCL while playing football for Shasta CollegeAnd Molly says his encouragement helped her through the setback.“Honestly, my brother helped a lot,” she said. “We both had the same mindset.”That determination has paid off for both siblings, with Anthony recovering well and on course to play in Shasta’s season opener in early September.Before suffering his injury in the final game of the season, Anthony was enjoying an outstanding fall playing linebacker for the Knights.He led the state in tackles at the JC level and was named all-conference and Shasta’s defensive MVP.Molly, meanwhile, is looking forward to getting back on the court and playing at CR.“I’m excited for it,” she said. “Hopefully we can compete and win some games.”Lorenzi believes her latest Del Norte recruit will play a big role for the team and likes her talent and game as much as her mindset.“She’s a very good athlete and she has a high level of ball control and she’s a good utility player,” Lorenzi said. “She can set, defend, pass and she’s got a great serve.”Molly is the latest in an impressive line of Warriors to join the Corsairs, as Lorenzi has used her close ties to Del Norte volleyball to her advantage, also recruiting Paula Mello and Alondra Ladezma to play for the local community college in recent years.And that connection is something that influenced Molly’s decision.“I’m excited to play for her,” said Molly, who has been playing volleyball since the sixth grade. “I wanted an opportunity to play volleyball again and Petra gave me that opportunity.”Molly is one of five H-DNL graduates to join the Corsairs for the upcoming season, and it’s a recruiting class Lorenzi is looking forward to coaching“For me, this group is probably the group I’m most excited about,” she said. “This was the initial crew at my first camp (as eighth graders) and they’ve been to my camps every year and so I’ve got to know a lot of these girls over the years.”Having played four different sports in high school, Molly says she enjoyed competing in all of them equally and doesn’t have a favorite.“Honestly I like all of them,” said said, adding that what she’ll remember most from her time competing for Del Norte is her coaches and the time she spent with her teammates.“The coaches at Del Norte are really dedicated,” she added.Molly wants to major in kinesiology and says she hasn’t decided yet whether she will play at a four-year school after her time at CR.The Corsairs open the new season at Santa Rosa on Aug. 26. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });