Ryan Brennecke / The BulletinCulver's Shealene Little

That booming thud is quite comforting for Randi Viggiano.

It is an eye-opening, jaw-dropping, bone-jarring explosion that is music to the Culver volleyball coach’s ears. Especially when she knows the source of that blast.

Because when the senior volleyball standout unleashes her 6-foot frame for a TNT-infused kill, Viggiano is sure of the outcome. “I know that ball’s going either straight down,” she says, “or off somebody’s head.”

Meet Shealene Little, or “Big Red,” as she is known to teammates and coaches for her fire-red hair.

Little is a three-time first-team all-state hitter (and well on her way to a fourth straight selection), the 2012 Class 2A player of the year and a state champion. She has broken Culver’s single-season kills record in each of her four seasons as a Bulldog.

Anybody familiar with 2A volleyball in Oregon knows who Little is now, Viggiano assures. And now Little has Culver set up to make a run at another state championship as the Bulldogs prepare for the 2A tournament this weekend at Ridgeview High in Redmond — Culver’s fourth consecutive trip to the final site.

The Bulldogs’ four-year surge has been powered largely by Little, who already this season has pounded out 639 kills.

“You don’t come across players like that, that walk into your gym,” Viggiano says. “She has totally helped turn our program around and helped it become a name.”

Little is no fan of the spotlight. The problem is, it seems to always be cast on her. She will accept it, but only as it recognizes the journey she has traveled — the countless hours of hard work she has endured — to attract the spotlight.

“I’m very odd in that way,” says Little, who has committed to play volleyball at NCAA Division I Tennessee Tech. “It’s important to me to not need attention and just to play the way I play and play the best I can play and work as hard as I can and let my hard work show on the court.”

Year after year, Little has continued to hone different skills as she rose to 2A stardom, becoming an annual candidate for player of the year candidate. Attribute that to the senior’s dedication, Viggiano says, to the work she logs in the gym.

“For me, it’s about being the best,” Little says. “But even if I am the best, that’s not good enough for me. I want to get even better. For me, I’m never good enough. I just want to keep on improving. I don’t want anyone else in another gym working harder than me. I want to get better even if I am the top dog. I’m never good enough for myself.”

In piling on the praise, Viggiano runs out of superlatives to describe Little, who the fifth-year Culver coach insists ranks among the state’s top hitters — regardless of classification.

“Dominating,” says Viggiano, who speculates that Little might lead the entire state in kills this season. “That’s how I would describe her, especially this year.”

Viggiano is well aware of how crazy her next thought sounds as she continues lauding Little. But of all the strides Little has made to become the dominant player she is today, the most notable improvement she has made has been her offense. Read that again. Then understand that Little owns the top four single-season offensive records in program history.

Yet Viggiano explains that it is not the number of kills Little racks up that shows the senior’s development. Rather, it is her efficiency.

“She is no longer the kid who is going to get 14 kills but have four errors,” Viggiano says. “She’s now the kid who’s going to go out and get 22 kills but have one error. Just that consistency.”

But even with that constancy, Little still amazes her coach.

“I’ve seen her hit balls this year that I have never seen her hit before,” Viggiano says, referring to Little’s enhanced power and agility. “She’s jumping higher. She’s getting to the ball quicker. She’s stronger. Really, she’s dominant.”

It is understandable for Viggiano to note that Little has not soared to these heights on her own. That, the Culver coach says, is a tribute to the Bulldogs’ setter, Margie Beeler, and to a Culver defense that keeps rallies alive to allow Little to be set up for a powerful kill. Little’s progression to this level is a testament to her club team, Rimrock Volleyball Club, which pitted Little in a pool of some of the area’s top volleyball players. That pushed Little and forced her to battle for her spot on the 18’s National team.

In the Culver orange and black, Viggiano says, Little is unquestionably one of the top players on the floor. In the club realm, however, she is challenged. And from that world emerges an even stronger hitter.

“She gets the best of both worlds,” Viggiano says. “That’s really helped her become a holistic player.”

Few players stroll through the gymnasium doors and display a talent like Little’s. In her case, given her dedication and drive, Little burst through those doors. Viggiano recognized Little’s entrance, and the coach had no doubt that Little would develop into the kind of player who could set school records, who could become a state player of the year — and who could lead her team to a state championship.

“She wants to be the best,” Viggiano says. “She doesn’t necessarily want to be recognized for it, but she wants to be the best player out on the court.”

That is the mindset Little takes into each match. For her, it does not matter who the opponent is or what player is standing on the other side of the net. The mindset is that Little is the best.

“And you know what?” says Little, offering a glimpse into her mentality. “You can’t stop me.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbulletin.com.