Bison volleyball players Lauren Ford and Jewell Dobson attended the U.S. Olympic Volleyball tryouts late last month and came home with memories and important lessons.
The two juniors were selected to represent Lipscomb at the tryout and said the atmosphere was almost unreal.
“It really didn’t hit me; it really didn’t set in with me until I walked in,” middle blocker Jewell Dobson said.
The women said the tryouts were fast-paced and constant. Each session was two hours and consisted mostly of drills.
“The style of play was just different. It was very intense. We were always running around playing [volleyball], so in a way that was fast paced,” Dobson said.
“It seemed surreal to us that we were playing with the best of the best,”outside hitter Ford added.
Through those drills, outside hitter Lauren Ford says she learned valuable lessons that she plans on taking into her senior year.
“One thing I saw was just a passion from the defenders. They always had this ridiculous energy that you don’t normally see in a lot of defenders,” Ford said. She also explained that she wants to be more vocal with that passion as well.
Dobson agreed saying she wants to carry that same passion into the aspects of her play and also highlighted the value of teamwork.
“We both have more of this appreciation for our own team; more so than we even did before. The only way a team is great is if everyone’s connecting and working together,” Dobson said.
Dobson and Ford also said that the presence of assistant coach Billy Ebel helped them stay comfortable at the tryouts.
“Billy is one of those coaches who just makes everything more comfortable. I was more relaxed because he was there,” Dobson said.
Ford said that having Ebel there made it feel like “a normal day in the gym.”
Results won’t be released until later in the year, but both said that they felt they “held their own” at the tryout for their size.
Dobson said that there were “taller, slower hitters, and we’re shorter and faster. Adjusting to that was different.”
Despite that, Dobson and Ford believe they made an impression and showed that they are good players who deserved the chance they got.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics