Pine Tree senior Mackenzie Richardson will continue her volleyball career at Cisco College.

Richardson, an outside hitter, signed with the JUCO program during a Wednesday signing ceremony at the Pirate Center on the Pine Tree High School campus.

"I chose Cisco because it seems like the right school for me," she said. "Being the person I am, I preferred starting off at a smaller school and working my way up. There were other schools I looked at, but after trying out for Cisco and getting such positive feedback, I knew I wanted to go to Cisco."

Richardson helped Pine Tree to a 29-8 record in 2012, which ended in a four-game Class 4A Region II bi-district loss to Royse City. Richardson had seven kills, one block, and nine digs in that contest. She finished her senior season with 147 kills, 26 blocks, and 84 digs.

Richardson, who plans to major in biology, said she plans to work on her hitting to prepare for playing at the college level. While she is a versatile player, she believes a particular aspect of her game will help her transition to playing in college.

"I am most college ready in my defense," Richardson said.

Richardson is the second player in PT's 2013 volleyball class to sign. Setter Emily Shelton, a first-team selection to the ETSN.fm Volleyball Super Team, signed in November with Tyler Junior College.

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