Laura Côté, a freshman setter on The University of Memphis volleyball team, didn’t expect to be thrown into the fire so soon.
She hasn’t even been on campus two weeks.
“I was hoping to ease into things,” Côté said.
Because she was playing for the Canadian Junior National Team, Côté did not participate in U of M’s preseason.
This left her with no time to get acclimated to the program, or her new teammates, before the beginning of the season on Aug. 26.
Nonetheless, she started at the setter position from day one, and it didn’t take her long to get the ball rolling.
In just the second tournament of Côté’s collegiate career, the 2005 O’Charley’s Tiger Invitational held this weekend at Elma Roane Fieldhouse, she led the Tigers to a 4-0 record and walked away as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Côté was also named the Conference USA Setter of the Week on Tuesday.
She is the first freshman to win a C-USA weekly honor since Liz Mullen was named Player of the Week for The U of M in 1995.
Things have been moving so fast, Côté didn’t even realize what she had done.
“I didn’t know how big of a deal it was at first,” she said. “But I’ve been getting congratulated so much that it’s starting to sink in.”
Head coach Carrie Yerty, on the other hand, knew what she was witnessing on the court this weekend.
“She had nine aces in one match,” Yerty said. “That tied a record.”
Considering that they’ve had less than two weeks with her, Yerty said, that is quite a feat.
Throughout the tournament, Côté tallied 151 assists, 23 digs, 17 kills, 13 service aces and 4.0 blocks. The freshman saved her best for the title match against Arkansas-Little Rock.
Behind her 39 assists and 10 digs, the Tigers put away the Trojans in three straight sets to keep the title at home.
Côté admits that she was nervous at first.
She said that she was hesitant because she didn’t want to make a mistake and let the team down, especially when she played such a key role.
“Finally,” Côté said, “I said ‘to heck with that’ and just had fun. I didn’t care about messing up. The most important thing was to relax.”
Her poise was noticeable on the court.
“She was very composed,” Yerty said. “She maintained a calmness but was still directive.”
Côté’s play so far may be a surprise to some because of her lack of experience at the collegiate level. However, Côté says that volleyball is in her blood.
Her mother, who coached her during all four years of high school back in her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has been coaching for over 20 years.
“When I was in her stomach she was coaching,” Côté said. “So, really, I’ve been in a gym my whole life.”
Besides having a volleyball background, the native Canadian also played men’s hockey for five years, beginning in fourth grade.
“Playing with the guys, they were so good and worked like dogs all the time,” she said. “Growing up with that helps me to stay aggressive on the court today.”
That aggressiveness that she gained on the ice as child came out this weekend in Côté’s performance.
Nancy Nellans, a senior outside hitter, was impressed by her new teammate’s play.
“She’s really energetic,” Nellans said. “You can’t really expect anything from someone that’s new like her. It was tremendous that she did so well.”
Côté’s teammates are looking for her to continue her high level of play as the season progresses.
“I expect exactly what she did last weekend and nothing less,” Nellans said.
Côté may have a lot to live up to now, but she’s more than capable of surpassing expectation.
“She has the ability to be one of the best setters to ever go through our program,” Yerty said. “And that’s saying a lot.”
