SPRINGDALE — Lauren Brown knew making a slight position change in her final year of volleyball might be a risky move.
Used primarily as a hitter as a sophomore and junior, Brown and Lady Saints coach Shyrah Schisler agreed a move to setter would enhance her opportunities at the next level, which at the time was what Brown was hoping for.
They had no idea the move would pay off in other ways as well.
“She didn’t shift roles totally, but she did in a few ways,” Schisler said. “She ran a 5-1 this year. Last year, she ran a 6-2, and she set from the back row and hit on the front row. This year she set front row and back row. So that was the biggest diff erence.”
Brown, who helped lead the Lady Saints to a repeat as 5A-West Conference champions, also repeated as the NWA Media Player of the Year for schools in Class 5A and below this season.
In a stellar campaign, she had 868 assists, 46 aces and 158 digs as the Lady Saints went 26-7-1 and 14-0 in the 5A-West. They also advanced to the Class 5A state semifi nals, going farther than they did a year ago when they were eliminated in the second round.
“After we lost in the semifinals, it took a few days to recover,” she said. “It hadn’t hit me that my career’s over after I have worked so hard. That’s all I’ve done is work and improve myself.”
Coming so close to a state fi nals berth and coming up short was tough at fi rst, she said.
“I was frustrated that we didn’t make it to the championship, but I also kind of reflected on my career that I have nothing to be disappointed about,” Brown said. “I got to play my last game with the seniors, got to grow with them. Even though we did lose, we ended on a very positive note. We were in the fight for it.”
Brown’s position adjustment was minor but her role was huge for the development of players such as sophomore Reagan Robinson and senior Brittany Butler.
“Lauren is a great hitter, but it worked really well for our off ense this year for her to be a consistent setter,” Schisler said. “It really opened it up for our hitters to actually do some different kinds of offenses to run to play at a high level.”
The move to full-time setter was also meant to enhance Brown’s college potential, but she has decided she will walk away from the game and instead focus on being a normal college student at the University of Arkansas in the fall.
“I made that decision, just to kind of chill,” she said.
Her role of helping others will continue. Although she won’t be setting up hitters for thunderous spikes over the net, she’ll be providing help in a much different way by working with children with speaking disorders.
“I want to be a speech pathologist,” she said. “I made that decision recently. I think it would be pretty cool to work with kids with speaking disabilities. I think that will be interesting.”
Schisler, who has resigned her position at Shiloh Christian, said Brown’s choice of a career just falls in line with the leadership skills she brought to this year’s team.
“It’s pretty hard to compare her to anybody because she goes above and beyond,” Schisler said. “She’s never harsh, she does it by example and does it in a kind way. That really helped our team this year.”