By: Taylor Lawson
Number 15, Michaela Wright, worked hard to earn her way into the Middle Tennessee volleyball team in the Fall of 2021 after taking on her two years of further eligibility for the Blue Raiders. After moving to Murfreesboro from a Texas school, Wright made her home on Chuck Crawford’s team.
“Middle Tennessee felt like home, so I decided to stay,” Wright said while smiling to herself.
Wright moved from her hometown in Missouri to Texas for school at the University of Texas at Arlington after her high school graduation to major in Business Administration. She was playing both basketball and volleyball, but after the loss of her mother in her senior year of college, she decided to take on the offered further eligibility for her volleyball career.
“Volleyball was kind of my mom’s sport,” Wright remembers, “She coached my team in sixth grade and that is a really fond memory for me.”
The graduate student also has made herself a better player since being on the Blue Raiders team. Coach Crawford has split up the Spring season into sections. Post-Spring Break has been set for defense.
“We’ve been working on my blocking. I’m 6’6, so nobody has ever trained me on that. They just kind of told me to do it, but giving myself the chance to know where my
hips are supposed to be, or how my shoulders are supposed to move is really important and gives me the chance to be better,” the player said.
Since she is a bit older than some of the other players, Wright is also a bit of a mentor for her younger teammates. The team took time to cheer each other on during their two hour practice. The girls were working on a lot of defensive drills, jumping to block the ball and spike it.
“I love that the team gets the chance to bond with each other. We really cheer each other on and support each other,” Wright said.
The team is set to play the University of Tennessee at Knoxville on Saturday, March 27, but plans to take some time to visit a local eatery or two.
“I think we are really prepared. We had a great practice today. We are working more on defense now since it is the second half of the season,” Wright explained, “Coach is a bit of a foodie, so we always make time to visit a local restaurant.”