Coach Patrick, 2004: “Laurén is an excellent athlete who has exceptional hand-eye coordination. She is a good volleyball player who, as she gains experience, will become an excellent player. She has excellent ball control, hustle and digging ability…”

Coach Patrick, 2008: “I have never been more proud of a student-athlete than I am of Laurén. She has put in the time and energy to maximize her potential. She is in the best shape of her career… It is impossible to measure the positive effect that her desire and leadership have had on our program. She is the most selfless player who has ever come through our program and is the definition of a consummate team player.”

Just looking at the stats sheet you won’t get the full picture of what Laurén contributes to the Lady Vols. But her teammates know. After not playing at all her redshirt year her teammates gave her their Most Improved award. After playing in only four matches her freshman year her teammates again gave her their Most Improved award. In 2006, she only played in five matches, but still her teammates honored her, this time by voting her their Most Inspirational award. Her hard work during practices and dedication to the team had earned her three awards in three years from her peers. But the recognition didn’t stop on the volleyball court. In 2007, the athletics department started an awards program called The Volscars. This time competing against athletes from different sports, Laurén won the very first female Big Orange Award, which is given to “a student-athlete who exhibits high character and enthusiasm, has a positive attitude, and encourages her teammates”.

A co-captain since her redshirt sophomore year, Laurén is an important leader on the team whether that is supporting her teammates, or in, as Coach Patrick once said, playing “a vital role in the development of our young players who look to her for guidance”. But that’s not to say her only contributions are off the court. After playing in nine matches her first two years, she has since seen action in 39 matches the past two seasons. She is often brought in near the end of a match Tennessee is leading in to serve and finish things out. In that regard you could say she is like a closer in baseball. Good closers are known for their ability to keep their composure and help calm things down in tense situations. And that description definitely applies to Laurén as well. Perhaps the best display of her skills came during the 2008 SEC Beach Volleyball Tournament where she and fellow senior Milan Clarke won the championship in their pool leading Coach Patrick to say, “I don’t know that there is a better example to sell beach volleyball with than Laurén LaFlamme. She is a player that has worked as hard as or harder than anyone I have ever had in the University of Tennessee volleyball program, but her skills do not always translate to the indoor game. The fact that she was able to showcase her considerable talents and abilities on a stage such as this, really goes to show how beach volleyball would allow greater participation by more female student-athletes.”

While she may not have been the flashy powerhouse on the court, she will be almost irreplaceable for the maturity, poise, and leadership she brought to the team.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 3:13 pm.