Summit High School volleyball senior Emery Estep earned one of the first John Maher Builders Scholar-Athlete honors of the 2026-27 school year, the Williamson Herald reported Thursday, Oct. 8.
The Spring Hill resident carries a 4.46 GPA and has 251 kills this season for the defending Class AAA state champion Spartans. She is the daughter of Robin and Jonathan Estep.
The award, a partnership between Spring Hill-based John Maher Builders and the Williamson Herald, is now in its 21st year. The Maher family has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to Williamson County student-athletes since 2005 and increased the annual total to $10,000 across four recipients in 2023. Each winner receives $2,500 at the program's May banquet.
Estep is eligible for one of those scholarships alongside fellow honoree Logan Williamson of Centennial High School.
On the court, Estep has posted a .221 hitting percentage from the outside with more than 150 digs, 20 aces and 15 blocks this fall. She notched 10 kills in Summit's District 10-AAA quarterfinal sweep of Ravenwood on Tuesday, Oct. 6, then added seven kills and four aces in Wednesday's semifinal win over Nolensville. That three-set victory, as we reported Oct. 8, punched Summit's ticket to the Region 5-AAA tournament for just the second time in program history.
Her impact is clear.
"I could not think of another athlete who pours into a program as much as she does with ours," Summit volleyball coach Warne Riker told the Williamson Herald in the Oct. 8 award announcement.
Off the court, Estep serves as a senior officer for the Best Buddies program, volunteers at The Miracle League of Columbia, plans events for the Summit girls Cotillion and leads the Summit Scribblers club as president. She is also a member of National Honor Society, Navigators and Future Healthcare Collective.
The No. 3-seeded Spartans were set to face top-seeded Franklin (26-1) for the District 10-AAA championship Thursday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m. at Summit. Franklin won both regular-season meetings in five sets, including a 25-23, 25-20, 18-25, 19-25, 15-13 result on Oct. 1. Both teams advance to the Region 5-AAA tournament regardless of the district final outcome.
