I couldn’t have been more excited coming into my first season at Otterbein! During preseason, I knew it would be tough to get some playing time based on how many girls played the same position that I did. I knew that I’d have to work very hard in order to see the court as a freshman. Once the season rolled around, I noticed that my work ethic paid off as I was in the lineup during our first few matches.
This all suddenly changed on Friday, September 21 as we took on John Carroll in the Rike.
Things were going good all until that last set of warm ups. We were in hitting lines and I was ready to take an approach. The referee blew the whistle, signaling for us to get off the court, but Tabatha Piper made one last set, and it was to me. I went up for the attack and then all of the sudden I was on the ground in serious pain.
The immediate thought by most people was that I had torn my ACL, but somehow I got lucky. I only ended up hyperextending my knee. I started rehab that next Monday because I planned on getting back to practice as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
My recovery seemed to take a little longer than expected and we later found out that it was due to some deep bone bruises around my knee. Our athletic trainer, Chuck Goodwin, and Coach McDonald gave me the option to basically redshirt, but it was actually called a medical hardship. I would get this season back and have four more years of eligibility.
Due to my major, I accepted the offer and continued rehab. I was still able to do some things in practice, but I could not dress for games so I took on a new role for my team. I cheered and kept stats all season long from the sidelines with another injured player, Emma Beyer. We had fun sitting together every game and cheering on our teammates.
Although it was a major bummer to not dress, I was still so glad I could be a part of everything and watch my team play some awesome matches. Watching was actually so much fun, because everyone on the court worked so well and flowed together. As tournament time came around, we were really looking good as a team.
We defeated Capital in the first round of the OAC Tournament and then took Ohio Northern in four to head onto the OAC finals. Our team was so pumped because that was the first time Otterbein volleyball has made it to the OAC finals. We were so beyond excited to make history but were even more excited to get a second shot at Mount Union, since we had lost to them earlier in regular-season play. We played against Mount on their home court on Saturday, November 3 at 2 p.m.
It was easily one of the most exciting matches I have watched all season. We came out on top, winning the match in four sets! After scoring the last point, we all rushed the floor and just cluttered together. It was such an awesome moment to share with everyone and I don’t think anyone will ever forget it. We made history and it felt so good.
Our next mission: Hope College in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
This was also another team we wanted some revenge on as we lost to them twice already in the regular season. We got back at in the gym on Monday and practiced like we were playing Hope. Coach McDonald knew their patterns and rotations, so the non-starting side acted as the opposition all week. Wednesday rolled along and we had a 10:15 a.m. practice and then loaded the bus at 12:15 to head to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The bus ride was about six hours, but it flew by pretty quickly. Once we got to our hotel, we all settled in and then went to a team dinner at Carrabbas. After a nice meal, we headed back to the hotel and we took showers, did some homework and went to bed.
The next morning we were to leave the hotel at 8:15 for a 25- minute walk through at Calvin. We were all supposed to wake up early enough to get some breakfast before heading on the bus but for my room, things didn’t go according to plan…
I was in a room with Lauren Beitel, Emily Bostian and Krystin Estes; Coach McDonald must have really trusted four freshmen being in a room together. Somehow our alarm didn’t go off in the morning, but luckily Lauren woke up at 8:07. She woke us up and we all jumped out of bed, put our stuff on, brushed our teeth, ran downstairs, grabbed some food and made it on the bus at exactly 8:16.
The four of us eventually calmed down by the time we got to the gym. We had a nice short practice and worked through some more rotations and got some serving, passing, setting and hitting reps. After that practice we were feeling good about our 3 p.m. game against the No. 6 team in the country.
We went back to the hotel and relaxed for about an hour and a half and then loaded up again and got some lunch at Panera. We got to the gym early so we could watch Wittenberg play Ohio Northern, hoping maybe ONU could pull out a victory, but they ended up losing in three.
We got into the locker room and everyone was doing their pregame rituals. It was a pretty intense atmosphere. We finally got out onto the court to start warm-ups. Kasey White and I watched from the side-lines as our team prepared for one of the biggest games of the year. We watched as they marched out to the NCAA song and it was such an awesome moment. Although we couldn’t be a part of the march, we were just so glad we could be there to support our team.
Finally, it was starting time.
We started off the first set strong but came up short, losing 25- 22. We continued to play hard as we were tied or leading for parts of the game. We ended up losing the last two sets, 25-21 and 25-22. Losing was such a bittersweet feeling. Knowing our season was over was rough, but we couldn’t forget all of our accomplishments.
We loaded the bus one last time and headed back to good ole Westerville with a season full of memories. I think we can all say how awesome it feels to be a part of the first ever OCVB team to make history!
Maddy Shelley
New Philadelphia, Ohio
