Don’t dare call Haskell Indian Nations University volleyball player Terri Slinkey short.

While the senior stands 5-foot-4 — a seemingly small stature for an outside hitter — Slinkey’s game and attitude are anything but scanty.

“Those are fighting words to her,” said fellow senior Shawna Douma — who, at an inch shorter than Slinkey, knows better than to even joke about her height. “You tell her that she is short, and all she is going to do is try and prove you wrong.”

Slinkey’s fiery attitude and intense style of play were on display Tuesday night at Coffin Sports Complex, but unfortunately for a sparse crowd of HINU fans that wasn’t enough to help winless Haskell pick up its first victory of the season. Instead, a more physical Peru State squad left with a 3-0 (30-15, 30-18, 30-13) win.

The Fightin’ Indians fell to 0-14.

“I think what’s frustrating about the whole thing is that people underestimate us where they should actually be supporting us,” Slinkey said. “We’re just waiting to explode.”

Slinkey, a Fort Defiance, Ariz., native, has left a similar volatile impression on Haskell coach Judith Gipp.

“The thing that is so great about her is she will never quit,” Gipp said. “If someone even thinks that she can’t do something because of her size, she’ll go out there and prove them wrong.”

She proved that several times Tuesday, whether she was flying through the air with her 20-inch-plus vertical leap (Slinkey says she hasn’t measured it for awhile, “but I just know it’s a lot more now”) to diving for an unattainable loose ball out of bounds.

Haskell Indian Nations University volleyball player Terri Slinkey makes a dig against Peru State. The Fightin' Indians lost, 3-0, Tuesday at Coffin Sports Complex.

During her four-year career at Haskell, Slinkey has played every position on the court.

“One time we put her in there at middle blocker against a girl that was at least 6-foot, and she’s the one who comes away with the block,” Gipp said.

But for the remainder of this season it seems Slinkey’s greatest strength — her leadership — is the one thing she can’t shortchange her Haskell teammates.

“No one’s going to tell me I can’t do something,” Slinkey said. “And that’s the message I try to deliver to every girl on this team.”

Haskell's Shawna Douma sets the ball for a teammate against Peru State.