Faith at the Net

The winning point of a volleyball game is often met with an eruption of cheers and a smattering of applause from the crowd. Whether an intramural game at the Hadlock Student Center or a Division I powerhouse matchup, it’s that final point that people remember. While in some ways that remains the same for the George Fox women’s volleyball team, there is one major difference that occurs: as soon as the game ends and the applause picks up, the clapping begins to fade as a hush goes over the crowd and the gym goes quiet.

Players from both George Fox and the opposing team standing in a circle, holding hands, and praying. It is only after a final “Amen” the cheers return and the celebration begins.

At first glance, anyone can see the women’s volleyball team is a strong-knit community, but the behind-the-scenes work they do often goes unnoticed. Each player comes to George Fox with their own story and — whether or not they came to the school for faith – they end up growing individually as well as with their relationship with the Lord. At least, this is the case for senior Mikaila Kronholm and sophomore Laelie Rasmussen. 

Kronholm’s journey to George Fox was one of twists and turns; she started off her college career at Cabrillo, a junior college in California, and came to Fox her junior year. While she mostly came to GFU for volleyball, as Kronholm adjusted and grew in the program, her motivations also extended – especially when it came to her faith. 

“I think the expectations that I had with volleyball, faith really took over them,” Kronholm said, “It's no longer about me just being a volleyball player and worrying about my stats, or the way I perform. It's so much deeper than that.” 

On the other side of the story is Rasmussen, who was originally recruited to play on the women’s basketball team. Not long after she came to Fox, she was offered a spot on the volleyball team as well. In just her freshman year alone, she was juggling all the new elements of going to college while also competing as a two-sport athlete. 

Between school, sports, and all the other things life brings, Rasmussen decided on volleyball; amongst other reasons, she felt a tug to the program because of its faith aspect. 

“Within the volleyball team, there is just a practical way that faith is implemented into everything we do,” said Rasmussen. “Christ is at the center of all we're supposed to be doing which is something super important to the team.”

With all of the chaos sports bring, the George Fox women’s volleyball team has many methods to keep Christ as a central figure in all that they do. One of the biggest examples for the team is their prayer partners; like many other volleyball teams, they have a “big sister, little sister” program, but the Lady Bruins have taken it to the next level with the addition of prayer partners. 

“I also make prayer partners, which is different from your sisters, “Rasmussen said, “It is a weekly five minute check in, or — whenever we have a team time or a study hall — you check in with your sisters and prayer partners at the beginning.”

Within the Bruins volleyball program, there are specific individual teams that help and organize activities and events so things run smoothly. There is the team mom, the spiritual team, the outreach team, and the organizational team. This season, Rasmussen is a part of the organizational group; not only does she organize prayer partners, but another responsibility of hers is to do a devotional during their team times. 

“I just kind of talked about the idea of rest,” said Rasmussen. “Looking into a mindset and heart posture of a restful life, rather than only having five hours in the day to rest.”

Not only do they focus on their own program, but their outreach goes out to other teams as well. One of the most known things the players do is invite the other team to pray with them, and even if the players don’t join, the offer is always there. However, the volleyball team’s work begins before the game even starts. The idea of verse cards is something the players — specifically the spiritual captains — have implemented into their culture and pre-game routines. 

“They print out verses for other teams we go to visit,” said Kronholm. “So it'll be a little printout of our favorite verse of the day, and we can hand them out to the other teams afterwards.” 

Of course, the program would not be what it is today without head coach Emily Davis. Her experience with all things volleyball came from playing four years at Concordia University, Saint Paul, a Division II. After a four-year career where she won four national championships as an All-American each year, she continued to succeed as she played overseas. When Davis began looking for a place to coach, a place where she could share her faith openly was very important to her. 

“Sports are an amazing catalyst to build discipline, and use the gifts we’ve been given to glorify the Lord who gave them to us,” said Davis. “At the end of the day, sports and volleyball are fleeting, what matters is what we believe and I love to integrate important conversations about the Bible and how our beliefs should impact our actions.”

Through all of her years of experience, Davis’ own philosophy of sports and faith comes from the influence of many other coaches she respects along with her own background and practice. One of her biggest hopes for the players on her team is that they have a path after volleyball ends; Davis wants to teach the girls to understand that the sport does not define who they are and that they have value after their volleyball career comes to a close. And from the words of her players, Davis is making a significant impact on her goal. 

“We're just so grateful for [Emily], because she's so faith driven. And I think that that aspect of it is something that we shouldn't take for granted. She incorporates it into our daily practices, like when we pray before practice,” said Kronholm. “Volleyball and George Fox in general, prepared me for being my own version of myself after this is over.”

Rasmussen said, “Emily is one of the most in-tune spirit people we know; she is constantly in prayer and trying to listen to what the Lord has for her and for our team.”

The music begins to fade until the last note is only a whisper. The locker room is still and quiet despite the nerves and adrenaline each player feels before the game. Only one voice of a player is clear and solid as it grounds the volleyball team and assures their hearts as they pray. 

With a final “Amen”, the George Fox women’s volleyball team, cheers erupt around the room as the players get fired up for the competitive game to come. They come out of the locker room as one unit; each player and coach brought together by not only faith in each other, but by faith in the Lord.