TicketSmarter WCC Athlete Spotlight: LMU's Phoebe Awoleye

Volleyball came later for All WCC First Team sophomore middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye. Already a natural athlete and involved in multiple sports, Awoleye signed up for the A5 Club camp after a friend's enthusiasm for volleyball piqued her own curiosity. While there, and representing Walton High School on her sister’s t-shirt, she was introduced to the director who took notice of the tee. He asked if she went to Walton and she shared that it was her sister’s shirt, but in a year she would be attending. 

Unbeknownst to her at the time, Walton had some hardware, winning state titles multiple times. The team she was joining had girls that were committed to big programs and Awoleye fell right in along with them. “I got really lucky to be able to go to a high school that really pushed me,” she shared, “In the beginning, it was kind of hard, because it was intimidating to be around these girls all the time. But it was really cool to be around them. We had a lot of common interests.”

She committed to Georgia the summer of her sophomore year of high school. After spending two years with the Bulldogs, Awoleye entered the transfer portal. “I knew from what I had at Georgia, what I wanted and what I didn’t want,” she explained, “ The second time around I knew that I wanted a smaller school, more intimate classroom setting, I wanted a school in a city. There were specific things and LMU checked off every single thing.

“And volleyball-wise, I wanted an environment where my coaches and I are learning. One that says let’s collaborate in this and let’s you get the best results for you because it’s not going to be the same for somebody else. I felt like that was something really important and LMU checked that off, as well, on the volleyball side.”

The middle blocker came to LMU in the spring of 2022 ready to make an immediate impact and learn a new system. Former head coach Aaron Mansfield had this to say about Awoleye, “I’m not sure I have coached many people who have picked up things the way that she did. Obviously, she had a really good season and I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

She reflected on her own growth as a player since joining the Lions. Awoleye shared how much more comfortable she has gotten in her game. “Our gym is a place where you aren’t afraid to make mistakes,” she explained. “You are challenging yourself in that way you try new things and yeah if you hit off the net you laugh about it, nobody cares it’s a learning process.” She went on, “Being okay with making mistakes, we do have a riskier system, so being okay with those risks and high risk, high reward, accepting that and going from there was really cool about being here at LMU.”

Practice, for her, looked at the more technical aspects of volleyball, but the greatest lesson for the All-Academic middle blocker was being able to play free. “I think my first two collegiate seasons I would overthink everything,” she explained, “Playing free, you can’t force yourself to do that, but I think I came into that space over time and with more experience I was able to relax and be less critical in games.”

It paid off for the sophomore, as she finished second in the Conference in blocks per set, total blocks and block assists, while concurrently taking third in the WCC in hitting percentage. Awoleye was ranked 19th in the country in blocks per set, while total blocks put her at 29th and hitting percentage at 35th in the nation. 

Mansfield had more praise for Awoleye’s game, sharing “When you see Phoebe play, when you really dive in, she’s one of the smartest blockers I have ever coached,” he shared, “Her instincts for where the ball is going and what the hitter is doing and where to put her hands, I know it sounds really simple but it’s a super complex thing to be able to read all of these patterns.”

LMU went 13-5 in the WCC. An effort that steadily grew along with the wins helped the Lions return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. But one of Awoleye’s favorite memory of the season demonstrated above all how vibrant and hilarious she is. The story was best told by her: “I think my favorite memory is the prank we pulled on Aaron.” Immediately laughter came through the Zoom screen and she took that as a cue to continue on, “ I have a crooked thumb and we pretended it was broken right before the Nebraska game. I had other people in on it.”

She lit up sharing this moment, ready to divulge more information on the silliness. “So, we were practicing the night before and I came down, it was perfect timing, one of the blocks made a sound, you know, when it hits weird? I hit it weird and I came down and I started acting like I broke my finger. I even brought it over to our athletic trainer and practice paused,” she continued.

“I’m bent over talking to Keith like ‘Keith, go along with this.’ So Keith is talking to Aaron and everyone starts laughing. It was funny because Brian, who was actually in on it, thought it was broken because he was like ‘Oh my god, did you speak this into existence?’ I was like `No, no, no, it’s all good.”

It was planned for months, with the whole team waiting for the perfect moment. They found it before their big game at Nebraska. “You should’ve seen his face,” Awoleye shared.

Amidst the hilarity, she added that the joy she shared with the team as they made the NCAA Tournament was something she wouldn’t forget from this past season. “I was sitting next to Kari and she was shaking she was so anxious. And the minute the name is there you just see her go like ‘Oh my god.’ It was definitely one of the best moments,” she said. 

In four short months, Awoleye gelled well with her team. They gave her the space to grow and learn all while getting to know her on a deep level.  The more time spent with each other, the more they believed in their abilities to work together as a team. And that took them back to the tournament. 

Now that the season has concluded, Awoleye and the Lions get the chance to rest and reflect on all that they accomplished together this past season. Perhaps for herself, she’ll watch a sports documentary or two. But she shared her excitement to return to campus and be reunited with her team. Sounds like they’ll be having a lot of fun together once they do. “When we get back in January, we are getting back together for a Mario Kart tournament,” Awoleye shared. Hope it’s a good one with lots of laughter.