During the COVID-19 lockdown, the option for collegiate athletes to play an additional year of their sport was added to make up for lost time, but the NCAA’s fifth year of college eligibility will no longer be in effect after this year. This is the last year Trinity University’s athletes are eligible for the COVID fifth year. Due to this rule, super senior Maddie Fate is able to reflect on what the opportunity to play a full four years of volleyball at Trinity has meant to her. Fate will graduate after the fall semester as a communication major. Fate takes time to share the teammate she wants to be in her final season.
The team is early into the 2024 season, but Fate matched two of her career highs with 13 kills and 16 points on Aug. 31 against East Texas Baptist from her middle blocker position. In the first Locker Room segment of the year, Fate summarized the accumulation of five years of dedication to the volleyball team over an email interview, while the team was competing in St. Louis, MO, at a tournament. Fate was quick to credit her team’s culture and former players for the player she has become.
Was your decision to return for a fifth year because of the NCAA extended COVID eligibility?
“Yes. I wanted to have a full four years of competition.”
What unique experience do you hope to apply during your final season?
“We are still pretty early in the season, but going into it, I definitely have this mindset that I’m not going to leave any regrets behind. That manifests in a lot of different ways, both on and off the court, but it’s a theme I consistently plan to implement in everything I do.”
How have you grown into a leadership role throughout your time on the team?
“On TUVB, we’ve always had the mindset that everyone is a leader. This is something that I learned when I was a freshman, when Avery Tuggle, Annie Rose Leggett and Sami Lin were the first to take their COVID fifth years, and I was reminded of it every year thereafter. My older and former teammates have been my biggest role models for leadership. With more court time may come more responsibility, but it’s not always about the stats or about having big kills or huge blocks. It’s about how you uplift others around you and encourage and push them to succeed.”
What impact do you hope to have left on the team?
“I hope to impact this team in any way they may need me. I want to leave a legacy on not just the program but within the team itself and our culture. I want to leave this team in better hands than I found it (which was in phenomenal hands at the time, I may add, so that will be a challenge).”
What has your time playing for Trinity’s Volleyball Team meant to you?
“This team and this opportunity to have more time together means everything to me. I care so deeply for everyone on this program and what we are aiming to achieve here, and I can’t wait to see what we are capable of accomplishing this year!”
