By: Grace Huguelet, Mizzou Athletics Strategic Communications
COLUMBIA, Mo. – “I’m just really looking forward to playing again,” said Mizzou Volleyball freshman DS Emily Brown. “My last season got cut short because of COVID, so it is going to be really fun to play and compete.”
A recent high school graduate from Lafayette, Indiana, Brown is the only freshman to join Mizzou this season. Brown was recruited by a number of different universities, including Purdue, located right in her hometown, but the Tigers stood out among the masses.
“When I came here on my visit it just felt like home and I fell in love with it,” said Brown.
To her, the coaches—Joshua Taylor and Molly Taylor—were the driving factors behind her decision.
“They are really great coaches, but they are really good people too,” said Brown, “and I think that’s really hard to find.”
Brown was relieved to make her final decision. After years of building up her skills to meet the collegiate level and spending months recruiting, she noted the stress behind the process and the sense of accomplishment that she felt when she committed to Missouri.
“It’s exciting because you get to watch them play and know that you are going to be a part of that someday,” said Brown.
She has had a unique experience as a student-athlete becoming a Missouri Tiger in the middle of a pandemic. Like other incoming freshmen at Mizzou, Brown lives in the residence halls, but without another freshman on the volleyball team, she does not have a roommate who she can share her experience with.
“Sometimes I wish that I had another freshman to go through these things with me,” said Brown. “But, it has also been really good for me to learn how to be alone and do things on my own, and I think that is really important.”
Becoming a Tiger during these times has helped Brown form a stronger bond with her older teammates. But with coronavirus restrictions in place, their interactions on the court are much different than she is used to.
“We can’t get in close huddles,” said Brown. “That is difficult to think about because in volleyball you are so used to getting into tight huddles with everybody.”
The team takes other health and safety precautions such as recording the players’ temperatures, requiring masks to be worn, and sanitizing their equipment after every use. The players are able to spend time together on and off the court, but they remain cautious while doing so, and their outside interactions are fairly limited.
“We can hangout with the whole team, but we have to be careful because you never know who could have it,” said Emily. “We don’t really hangout with people outside of our team because we don’t want to risk it.”
As the season opener approaches, remaining cautious is even more important for Brown and her teammates. Brown’s first collegiate appearance will be against Alabama on Oct. 21.
“Playing at this level is going to be challenging, but also rewarding,” said Brown. “I think we have a really good team this year and we can do some really great things.”
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