Olivia Lower

Only senior and returning starter faces challenging season with younger team

How did you get started in volleyball?

"I started playing when I was in fifth grade because Sophie, my older sister, played. She’s two years older, so she was in seventh grade. She was starting school volleyball, which we didn’t have in fifth and sixth grade, so I played intramural. I started taking lessons with her with a private coach when she was in eighth grade and I was in sixth grade just so that we she wouldn’t be alone. I started playing travel with some people from my church. Their dad was the coach, so it was easy to get started. We went to Dallas and Shreveport. After that, I wasn’t a soccer person anymore, and I loved soccer and wanted to play when I was in middle school and high school, but after I started volleyball I was like, “This is my thing.” It just clicked."

What was it like playing at the high school level?

"I went to every workout in the summer going into freshman year because I wanted to make a good first impression. Even going into freshman year, I didn’t have a spot on the team. Now my position is outside hitter, but originally I didn’t play there. There was another girl in my spot, so I started somewhere else. I worked and I fought for that spot. I was like “I want to play here, and I am going to work hard for it.” Eventually, [Coach Hardy] put me over there, and she moved the other girl. A lot of time has gone into volleyball. It is something–I don’t want to sound cliche–but it does make you forget about what’s going on outside of that gym because you’re on the court with those people and you get a point or something like that, and you all come together and you’re energetic and motivated. It’s a really good feeling."

What’s been your most memorable moment?

"I would probably say last year in the second round of playoffs, and we were playing Midlothian in Tyler at Robert E Lee. It was a really hard game. That was the most energetic and hyped that I’ve seen our team. Every single point we were coming together. We won and we did this cheer that we do every time we win. We got in this huddle and we said, “See if you can hang, because if you can’t, you need to get off our court.” We did that so loud, and we were all screaming and crying after we won. It was amazing. I’ve never felt like that before in my life."

After last year’s historic season, how do you feel about being the only senior and starter on a team that has a lot of improving to do?

"It’s very discouraging. They all know I wasn’t planning on playing. Honestly, my dad and more adults talked me into it saying how I don’t want to be that person who quit because I’m always going to say, ‘I quit.’ And I don’t want to have that in the back of my head 30 years from now when I think about what could have happened, so I ended up playing. The coaches have talked to me and said, ‘You’re not going to feel the benefits and the joy of the season until years from now when you look back and think of what a leader you were.’ That’s where I am right now. I am just waiting to get there."

How do you want to be remembered by the other players?

"I hope that they see me as more of a friend and a role model. I want them to say that we knew it was hard for her, but she did it for us. [I] have more of a relationship individually with the other girls that is deeper than volleyball now, so I don’t want them to think of me [as a teammate], but like she was a fun person and she listened and cared and cared about the relationship and chemistry between all of us. It’s deeper than just what happens on the court. We spend so much time together, so I want them to remember me like that, not just a player or a teammate but as their friend."

How do you think you’ll feel when the season ends?

"It will be different, definitely. When it hits me that I won’t play volleyball again, ever, in my life, that is when I think I will become grateful for this season. But now, I still have two months, and it feels long."

Where do you see the future of the team?

"This year’s six sophomores and two freshmen–when they’re old enough, and they’re seniors and they’ve gelled and figured out how to play together and not get mad at each other, I think they will be amazing. But they’re going to have to learn how to do that. There’s definitely potential there from what I can see."