By JACKSON WANG
Executive Editor
Seeing double on the Saint Rose women’s volleyball team is normal. That’s because sophomores Katy and Tori Daniels are identical twins. Well, maybe fraternal.
Actually, they don’t know.
“We were born two separate sacks and then the doctor was like ‘oh they’re fraternal,’” said Katy. “And then my mom was really, really good friends with the person who delivered us and then a few years later, they’re like ‘oh they look so much alike, they’re identical.’”
At that point the Daniels twins might have created a new discovery in science, showing doctors identical twins could be born in two separate sacks.
“We don’t actually know, but we look a lot alike and we act a lot alike, so we’re pretty much identical,” said Katy, a libero for the Golden Knights.
Being twins has offered Katy and Tori advantages in life, especially when they are playing volleyball together. Tori, a setter for the Golden Knights, describe it as being so easy and familiar to play on the same court.
“It’s like having your best friend on the court with you all the time,” said Katy.
They started playing volleyball about 10 years ago, after watching their older sister play the sport.
“We kind of just fell in love with it,” said Tori.
At that time, they were living in Phoenix, Arizona, where volleyball was a very popular sport and everyone played it, said Tori.
And since they’ve been playing together for so long, they always know how each other are when they’re on the court together.
“We know our personality,” said Katy. “We’ve done it all together.”
Tori said most of the time, she can sense when Katy is going to dig a ball, which gives her an advantage of getting ready for the set.
It’s hard for their teammates not to notice the special connections Katy and Tori have in volleyball.
“From the start, they had a great connection being that they not only grew up together, but played together,” said junior outside hitter Christina Strezenec. “Katy is well rehearsed at putting the ball to target in both defense and serve receive, and Tori does an awesome job at mixing up the sets and hustling to balls that fall far off the net.”
Being twins also meanings being there for each other when things are good or bad.
In one situation, Katy was feeling down after giving up the last point to their opponent, which ultimately ended the game and their freshmen season.
“It wasn’t Katy’s fault that we lost the game obviously, but I can tell it was really hard [for her] as the last person to touch the ball,” said Tori.
So instead of being upset over the disappointing outcome, Katy was motivated to work even harder by hitting the workouts early. And Tori was by her side, every step of the way, putting in the work to get ready for their sophomore season.
“They’re constantly in the gym and the library, encompassing the ultimate image of a student athlete,” said Strezenec.
On average, they train about 15 hours a week in the offseason, according to Tori.
Katy and Tori currently live in South Hadley, Massachusetts, but their story didn’t start there or in Phoenix. Their tale began in Ohio, where they were born just one minute apart, with Tori being the older twin.
But soon after, they would move to Phoenix where they lived for twelve years.
“I really consider home Phoenix because we lived there for so long,” said Tori.
They moved to South Hadley when they were in the 10th grade, and attended the local high school, where they found the atmosphere to be unfriendly and unwelcoming.
So they decided to transfer after being there for a year.
Tori said without her sister, she has no idea how they both would have survived South Hadley High School that year.
But once they transferred to Frontier Regional, it was a different aura.
“We were finally able to play volleyball with people we were friends with,” said Tori.
But it did come with a price. They had to sit out their junior year as part of the rules of transferring to a different high school.
“It was really really hard,” said Tori, describing what it was like not playing volleyball for one season.
In the end, it was worth it. In their senior year, Katy and Tori helped lead their high school to a 26-0 record and a state championship.
“It was like something out of a movie,” said Katy, describing the perfect ending to the high school volleyball career.
Soon after, it would be time to decide where they wanted to play volleyball at the next level. Many schools that recruited them wanted both Katy and Tori.
“They wanted a package deal,” said Tori.
Both received at least 10 offers to play volleyball the collegiate level. Katy was the first one to commit, deciding to offer her service to Saint Rose. “We didn’t think of going to the same school,” said Katy. But when they asked their high school teammates and coaches, they told Katy and Tori they could not see them playing volleyball separate.
So Tori followed her sister and committed to Saint Rose as well.
The Daniels’ said they’ve really enjoyed playing in Albany and going against the tough teams in the NE-10 Conference. Tori said her teammates have been great.
“I’ve really enjoyed playing here and can’t imagine being anywhere else,” said Tori.
Off the court, their relationship is still noticed by teammates and friends.
“Katy and Tori are two of the happiest people I’ve ever met,” said Kaitlyn Jasnica, senior middle hitter for the Golden Knights. “They are always laughing at each other’s jokes and finishing each other’s sentences.”
There is one big price both Katy and Tori have to pay for being twins; the frequent chance of being mixed up by friends, teammates, and family members.
To help identify which is which, they wear different color jerseys, shirts, and numbers to help their teammates and friend out, but people still get them mixed up.
“The thing about that is people feel really bad about it but Katy and I don’t get offended,” said Tori.
“It’s kind of a complement,” said Katy.
Even their closest relatives get the Daniels twins confused.
“Our parents even mix us up,” said Katy.
Katy and Tori said they are always around each other, whether it’s playing volleyball or just spending quality time together.
“Some twins aren’t that close, but Katy and Tori are always together,” said Jasnica. “They’re closer than any other siblings I’ve ever met.”
