Volleyball Feature -- Lisa Boyd
10/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 23, 2003
By Sara Hunninghake
Mizzou Media Relations
Lisa Boyd could be considered a recruiter's dream, at least for Susan and Wayne Kreklow.
Most high school athletes require a certain amount of convincing when the time comes to make the infamous college decision, but not Boyd. The Kreklows didn't have to work their recruiting magic on her.
Boyd received all the convincing she needed her freshman year of high school.
"I knew Susan and Wayne when they coached at Columbia College," said Boyd, who is from Farmington, Mo. "They used to come and do camps for us. I remember actually telling my parents my freshman year, 'I really like these coaches. They coach at Columbia College. I want to look there.'"
Yet, when the Kreklows took over the volleyball program at Missouri in 2000, Boyd wasn't as interested in being a Cougar. Although she considered a handful of other schools, Mizzou was the obvious choice.
Now, Boyd is part of the core group of four sophomores that has become the backbone of the Missouri team, ranked No. 24 in the polls. While it hasn't always been an easy road for Boyd, she has learned how to adapt and be successful, no matter the situation.
In 2001, Boyd spent her true freshman year as a redshirt. Because she came from a high school program that did not emphasize as many quick plays, Boyd was not accustomed to the faster pace of the college game. The year of training gave her the opportunity to adjust to the speed of the Missouri offense.
Boyd hit another pothole at the beginning of the 2002 season when her foot began to bother her a week into two-a-day practices. Despite the pain, she continued to practice for the next week and a half before finally being diagnosed with a stress fracture in her foot.
Because of the injury, Boyd did not play in the Tigers' first 13 matches. "I really felt like I was doing well and catching on during two-a-days, and then I got hurt," she said. "It was hard going to tournaments, knowing that I could be playing and instead I was watching."
When Boyd finally returned to the line-up, she spent most of the season playing as a right-side hitter. Middle blocker was the position she played in high school because she was "the tallest girl at my school," yet the team didn't need her there because of Senior All-American Christi Myers.
Now, with Myers gone, the challenge for Boyd this season has been readjusting to being a leader in the middle. One might think Boyd has some big shoes to fill, but she doesn't see it that way.
"There are just a lot of different things we're doing," Boyd said. "Christi was a slide hitter, so that was our offense. When she was in the front row, we were hitting slides. Without her, we have to make a lot of movement in the middle, and we have to run hitters around in order to make up for the really big slide we had last year."
But don't think of her as the replacement. Boyd has made a name for herself this season because of her superb play on the court. She is averaging 2.28 kills per game, and her .325 hitting percentage leads the team.
The Tigers got one of their biggest victories in team history when they fought back from a two-game deficit to defeat Nebraska, ranked No. 8 at the time, 3-2 on Oct. 17. Boyd was in the thick of the action with the kill that ended the fourth game and sent the match to a decisive fifth game.
Although the initial first pass was an overpass, Boyd took the set and made the most of the situation.
"Wayne always says don't think, just react, and that was a perfect example of not thinking," she said. "After I hit it, I was like, 'Whoa, what just happened.' That whole game, our backs were against the wall. But we came back and swung as hard as we could and played as hard as we could. I think that has to be the biggest win of my career so far."
That wasn't the first time Boyd had to adjust to a situation, and it likely won't be her last. But you don't have to convince this girl of that. She seems to make up her mind pretty easily on her own.
