The time it took to cook the burgers and brats was just enough for Emma Ludwig and her dad, Mike, to pepper in the backyard of their Boyertown home.
“Anytime I would go outside and grill, she would follow me with a volleyball,” said Mike Ludwig. “She knew we could pepper while I was cooking.”
Looking back, the thousands of these makeshift training sessions blur together, but both agree the routine doubled as important bonding time and valuable early development in Emma’s athletic journey.
Plus, the cheeseburger made for the perfect post-practice meal.
Like many young athletes, volleyball was only one of many sports that filled Emma’s schedule. Between lacrosse in the spring and both volleyball and basketball in the winter, the Ludwig family was constantly on the go between practices, games, and tournaments.
But early in high school, Emma began shifting her focus from basketball to volleyball. Even as a freshman varsity basketball player—a feat in itself—Emma found herself frequently cutting basketball short to attend volleyball practices.
“What really sold us was when she was trying to leave basketball games to go to volleyball practice,” Mike recalled. “At that point, I knew where her heart was.”
This marked a time of major change for Emma, dedicating herself fully to volleyball for the first time. Along with this shift, she experienced another significant change – this one physically.
“She played varsity for all four years but when in 9th grade playing against 17 and 18-year-olds can be tough, ” said Mike. “But every year her skills would get better but she could also physically do stuff.”
Emma was also playing club volleyball in the offseason, but longed to represent her high school, Boyertown, on the volleyball court. At the time, Boyertown only offered volleyball as a club sport, despite Mike’s repeated attempts to convince the school administration to start an official team. However, with Emma’s encouragement and her recruitment of friends who had never played, Mike’s fourth attempt was a success—Boyertown finally established a volleyball program.
“We had 75 girls from the district come out, and two of them knew how to play,” Mike said, Emma being one of the two.
During its inaugural season, Emma’s freshman year in 2017, Boyertown finished 6-10 overall and 5-8 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC). But the following season, Boyertown Volleyball truly took off, winning its first Liberty Division Championship and appearing in the PAC Final Four and PIAA District One Playoffs. Although a new program, the team quickly made up for its lack of experience with determination and heart.
From there, the team continued to grow, making it to their first PAC Championship and earning a PIAA District One playoff win the following year. By 2020, the Bears secured the PAC Championship and returned to the District One Playoffs – hosting a playoff game for the first time in the team’s short history.
“It was four of the greatest coaching years of my life, ” said Mike. Not only because I loved volleyball, but I got to share that with my daughter and watch her grow up.”
“I couldn’t be more thankful that he took the leap to start the program because high school volleyball was where I truly fell in love with the sport,” said Emma. “I didn’t have the smoothest club experience, so having high school volleyball gave me a chance to develop my skills and a deeper passion for the sport.”
Etching her name in the history books
Accolades and records aren’t something the Ludwigs focus on often. Even when Mike played club volleyball at Penn State, it was the team aspect that intrigued him most.
“It wasn’t something I even knew about until after my sophomore season when Coach mentioned I was on track to beat it,” Emma said.
The record Emma was on track to break wasn’t just any milestone. The Millersville University Women’s Volleyball All-Time Assist record (3,580 assists), held by Missy Rauhauser for nearly 30 years, was within her reach.
10,933 days after Rauhauser set the record – Ludwig broke it.
Leading 23-15 in the second set, Emma delivered a perfect set to teammate Emma Kerwin, who landed a hit down the left side of the net to break the record.
Coach Smith called a timeout as Emma’s teammates rushed onto the court, bringing signs and flowers to celebrate their new record holder.
“I love my teammates so much, so getting to celebrate this accomplishment not only for myself but for the program and each one of them was such a cool moment, something I will never forget,” said Emma. “I couldn’t have broken the record without each one of them and their support on and off the court. This was not only a win for me but a testament to how great they all are, too.”
