LEXINGTON — There's a common saying that if someone is a jack of all trades, that person is a master of none. That trite statement doesn't hold true when it comes to Lexington's Sydney Corum.

Corum doesn't just do one thing well on the volleyball court.

She excels in a multitude of things.

And it's fair to say she has mastered each skill that it takes to be a great player. Corum had 685 kills, 155 blocks and 110 ace serves in leading the Golden Bears to a 45-10 record and a Class 2A state runner-up finish in 2012.

And for that reason, Corum was selected as the TimesDaily Volleyball Player of the Year.

"She's just an all-around player," Lexington volleyball coach Melissa Hammond said. "She's not only one of the best hitters I've ever coached at Lexington, she can serve, plays great defense and passes really well. I'm confident with her on the front row as well as the back row."

Corum said she wanted to improve her defense before her senior season so she specifically worked on that skill set during the summer.

"I've always worked more on hitting, and I needed to work more on my defense," Corum said. "We lost several good defensive players from last year's team, so that's an area I needed to improve on. I never really had worked on a defense a lot, but I found out I really like it."

Hammond said Corum is a role model for the team's younger players because she epitomizes what an all-around player should be.

"We've got two or three players right now that want to be able to play all the way around (front row to back row), and (Corum) makes them work a little bit harder," Hammond said. "They've seen what she can do as far as playing all around, and they want to do it just like she does. Everyone looks up to her for that reason."

Corum said learning to play all the different positions well is a necessity for a school as small as Lexington.

"With Lexington being a smaller school, you've got to be good at everything," Corum said. "Bigger schools have more people to play different positions. Being a smaller school, you need to learn to play different positions because there's not as many players."

Corum's all-around play attracted the attention of the Wallace State coaches, and Corum signed to play with the perennial junior college powerhouse Lions next season.

"I'm very excited to be continuing my volleyball career there," Corum said. "I'll be comfortable there because I know a lot of people that are going there and I know the coach very well. I got to practice with their team recently, and that was a great experience."

But Wallace State's gain is Lexington's loss, and Hammond will have to try and replace Corum's all-around excellence.

"We've got players who have worked hard to be able to do what she does," Hammond said. "But there's going to be some big shoes to fill next year. We're definitely going to miss her."

TimesDaily All-Area Volleyball Team

Player of the year: Sydney Corum, Lexington

Coach of the year: Melissa Hammond, Lexington

First team

Hitters

Sydney Corum, Lexington. Sr., Middle — Led Bears to state runner-up finish with 685 kills, 155 blocks and 110 ace serves

Addie McGee, Lexington, Jr., Middle — Second on Bears with 673 kills and had 171 blocks

Keyonda Mason, Deshler — Led Shoals area with 247 blocks

Lexie Bradley, Wilson, Jr., OH — Compiled great all-around stats (615 kills, 382 digs) for Warriors

Ciarra Edwards, Wilson, Sr., Middle — Area leader in kills with 697

Victoria Crumpton, Hatton, Sr., OH — Among Hatton’s leader in kills and blocks in an Elite Eight season

Setters

Savannah Stults, Lexington, Jr. — Led area setters with more than 1,400 assists

Brianna Terrell, Wilson, Sr. — Compiled more than 1,200 assists

BrinLee Glass, Loretto, Jr. — Third-most assists among area players

Defensive specialists

Jennifer Schroeder, Wilson, Sr. — Area’s top back-row player with 433 digs

Alex Hillman, Muscle Shoals, Jr. — Topped back-row players with 443 digs

Makenzie Childress, Loretto, Sr. — Led Loretto’s state tournament team in kills and digs

Honorable mention

Hitters

Anna Beth Alexander, Muscle Shoals; Arsheana Rhodes, Muscle Shoals; Julia Burton, Deshler; Katie Weber, Brooks; Haley Shollenberger, Florence; Latresia Williams, Florence; Ashley Robertson, Rogers; Destinee Woods, Waterloo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Covenant Christian; Madison Floyd, Central; Maggie Green, Rogers

Setters

Abby Keener, Central; Rachel Farris, Covenant Christian; Destiney Smith, Muscle Shoals, Sydney Malone, Deshler; Aleah Newsome, Florence

Defensive specialists

Rachel Burden, Loretto; Kaitlyn Belue, Brooks; Hannah Kohler, Central; Shelby Huckaba, Central