JOY IS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: LCU VOLLEYBALL IS FINDING ITS IDENTITY
We could talk about the wins.
We could talk about the career highs, the milestones or the fact that Lubbock Christian finally got to play volleyball in front of its home crowd after opening the season with 12 straight matches away from home.
We could talk about a 3-1 win over St. Mary’s on Friday night followed by a 3-0 sweep of St. Edward’s on Saturday afternoon. We could talk about the Lady Chaps climbing back to .500 on the season and moving to 3-1 in Lone Star Conference play under first year head coach Tyler Neal.
There is plenty to talk about.
But after watching this team over the weekend, the biggest story might not be found anywhere in the box score.
It is the JOY with which this team plays the game.
PLENTY TO CELEBRATE
Make no mistake, there were some outstanding individual performances during LCU’s first home weekend of the season.
Ramsey Clark delivered a career high four aces Friday night.
Freshman Kayson Reeves put down a career high 12 kills against St. Mary’s.
Leigh Jespersen surpassed 100 kills on the season for the third consecutive year.
Tatum Fleitman followed with a career high eight blocks Saturday afternoon.
Hope Gonsioroski recorded a career high seven kills against St. Edward’s.
Freshman Haley Wheeler had a career high four aces Saturday, giving her seven during the home stand.
Then there is sophomore Camdyn Sears, who recorded the 30th double double of her career Saturday with 18 assists and 10 digs while pushing her season assist total past 350.
Any one of those performances could give us a story to tell.
Collectively, they helped the Lady Chaps complete a perfect weekend and move themselves firmly into the top tier of the early Lone Star Conference standings.
But numbers only tell part of what is happening with this team.
THE GAUNTLET HAD A PURPOSE
LCU did not take the easy road into conference play.
Four of the Lady Chaps’ six matches immediately before the start of LSC play came against Top 25 opponents.
There were losses along the way.
But somewhere inside that gauntlet, this team began finding something.
An identity.
First year head coach Tyler Neal and assistant coach Levi Savage are building something that is becoming increasingly visible each time the Lady Chaps take the court.
It is a culture built upon belief.
Belief in the process.
Belief in their teammates.
Belief that whatever role they are being asked to play matters to the greater goals of the team.
Spend very long around this group and that belief becomes pretty hard to miss.
WATCH THE BENCH
So often in sports, athletes become so consumed by the outcome that somewhere along the way they forget why they started playing the game in the first place.
Watch the LCU bench and you will see something different.
You will see athletes celebrating their teammates.
You will see energy after a huge block and encouragement after a mistake.
You will see players who may not be on the court in that particular rotation still completely invested in every single point.
And you will see a whole lot of smiles.
This group is talented.
But they are also FUN.
And in volleyball, where energy, emotion and momentum can change a match in a matter of a few points, that matters.
The Lady Chaps bench is becoming more than a collection of players waiting for their number to be called.
It is an emotional anchor for this team.
It is becoming a competitive advantage.
ENERGY IS A CHOICE
I had a coach who constantly reminded us of something that has stuck with me for years.
“Energy is a choice.”
These Lady Chaps are making that choice well.
It is easy to bring energy when you just put down a kill.
It is easy to celebrate when your name is announced or when you are the one filling up the stat sheet.
The real test of culture is whether you can bring that same energy when somebody else gets the moment.
LCU appears to have a roster full of athletes who genuinely enjoy seeing their teammates succeed.
That kind of buy in cannot be measured in kills, assists, digs or blocks.
But you can absolutely feel it inside the gym.
And over the course of a long season, it becomes incredibly valuable.
SOMETHING SPECIAL IS TAKING SHAPE
So yes, LCU went 2-0 this weekend.
Yes, the Lady Chaps finally got some home cooking after spending the first 12 matches of the season on the road.
Yes, there were career highs, milestones and outstanding individual performances all over the stat sheet.
And yes, at 3-1 in Lone Star Conference play, LCU has put itself in a pretty good position as the conference race begins to take shape.
We could talk about all of it.
But maybe the most important thing we saw this weekend had nothing to do with a number.
It was a team beginning to discover exactly who it wants to be.
A team playing for one another.
A team completely bought in.
A team having fun.
A team playing with JOY.
The scoreboard was impressive this weekend.
But the product on the court and on the bench was even better.
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