Brown Excels At Variety Of Spots

Junior Helped Shiloh Christian Capture 5A-West Conference Championship

Lauren Brown of Shiloh Christian School was named Small Schools Volleyball Player of the Year.
Lauren Brown of Shiloh Christian School was named Small Schools Volleyball Player of the Year.

— Lauren Brown had no clearly defined role for Shiloh Christian this season.

And that’s just the way she likes it.

Brown, a 5-foot-7 junior, played a variety of roles for the Lady Saints’ volleyball team and helped Shiloh Christian captured the 5A-West Conference championship in just its first year in Class 5A.

Player Of The Year

LAUREN BROWN

Shiloh Christian

CLASS: Junior

HEIGHT: 5-7

NOTABLE: Helped the Lady Saints win the 5A-West Conference championship in their first season in Class 5A. ... Advanced to the second round of the Class 5A State Tournament. ... Recorded 45 aces, 543 assists and 157 digs.

She recorded 543 assists, 157 digs and had 45 services aces on the year. Her all-around excellence earned Brown the All-NWA Media Volleyball Player of the Year award.

“I love hitting and I love setting,” Brown said. “I take a lot of pride in being able to play all the positions.”

Shiloh Christian had achieved elite status in Class 4A, making deep runs in the state tournament in recent seasons. But when the school petitioned the Arkansas Activities Association to move up to Class 5A last spring, Brown and her teammates knew the competition would be much tougher.

“During the offseason, we had to have a different mentality from the previous years,” Brown said. “We knew we had to step it up because the teams were so much better in 5A. You can’t afford to underestimate any team, because they are all amazing.”

The Lady Saints prepared for the higher classification by playing a tough nonconference schedule, then ran through the 5A-West with just one loss to earn the league title and a No. 1 seed at the Class 5A state tournament in Alma.

Shiloh Christian swept Sylvan Hills 25-9, 25-10, 25-12 in the opening round before bowing out of the tournament in a 3-1 loss to Greene County Tech in the second round.

Although the team will lose several talented players from this year’s team, the return of several key players, like Brown and junior Brittany Butler will again have the Lady Saints as one of the favorites in the 5A-West next season.

“Next year I think we’ll be a lot more prepared,” Brown said. “Brittany and I, we’re excited to step up and lead. We have a lot of younger girls coming up and we’re excited to take over the leadership.”

Shiloh Christian coach Shyrah Perry said having a player that can seamlessly move across all the positions is rare.

“You don’t see a lot of players like Lauren who can do so many things as well as she does,” Perry said. “Not only is she a great setter and great hitter, her passing has also improved. She has gained a lot more confidence.”

Perry said early in the year the coaches stressed the importance of improving Brown’s defensive approach. About midway through the season, it started to click and that’s when the team really took off.

“Lauren really stepped up on defense,” Perry said. “We got on her hard and she really started to take a lot of pride in her defense and that definitely helped our team, especially in the tougher games when it was tight.”

Brown hopes to extend her career into college. She plans to again play for Club Cross, a Northwest Arkansas club volleyball program.

As for what position she plans to focus on in college, Brown said she’d probably be a setter. Or maybe a libero. Or maybe any number of other positions.

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