Weekly Feature: Kelsey Bowers
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 | Volleyball
By: Sean Cartell
UF Communications
Editor's Note: Each week during the season, a different Florida volleyball player will be featured in the “Features” section at the bottom of the volleyball homepage at www.GatorZone.com.
During her volleyball career at the University of Florida, senior middle blocker Kelsey Bowers has filled a lot of different roles. From hometown hero to dynamic middle blocker to star student to team leader, Bowers has excelled in every role that she has been asked to take on.
But this season, with six new freshmen joining the Gators, Bowers has gladly taken on a new role – mom. Bowers, with her whatever-it-takes attitude, has been a teacher and a watchful eye for, most specifically, Florida's freshmen middle blockers Cassandra Anderson and Betsy Smith.
“Kelsey is like a mom,” Anderson said. “She sees everything and has been helpful in so many areas like our court awareness, blocking and transition.”
Bowers, who is a two-time All-SEC second-team selection, said that, while she has enjoyed the role of helping the Gators' freshmen, she also understands that such mentoring is an important responsibility that comes with being a senior at Florida.
“I think it definitely just comes from the tradition of Florida volleyball,” Bowers said. “Something happens between your junior year and your senior year, and you get a little bit more aware. I think there's a little bit more of a tug on Diaz and I because there are so many freshmen, and we many have to provide more of a guiding force than other classes may have had to.”
Bowers spent all of the summer and part of the preseason recovering from a back injury suffered during her participation with the United States A2 team in the USA Adult Open Volleyball Championships in Atlanta this past May. And while Bowers returned to Gainesville with an injury, she says that the experience of playing with the A2 team was invaluable.
“I really enjoyed it,” Bowers said of the A2 experience. “I always like playing for the different coaches and different great players across the country. You kind of learn different things that you can take from their games. I learned a lot and it was definitely fun.”
While Bowers spent much of her time on the sideline this summer, she wasn't any less of a leader than she is now when she is on the court. Bowers continued to play her role as a senior leader, shouting words of encouragement and helping the freshmen with ideas of how to improve, even relating them to situations that she faced as a rookie.
“Kelsey has been amazing,” Smith said. “She sees the little things that we need help with. It's really nice to have such an amazing player critique us and provide positive feedback.”
Bowers said that she is happy to give back to the younger players, especially after all the help she received as a freshman for the Gators in 2005.
“I would say that ever class has brought something different,” Bowers said. “In my freshman year, Rachel Engel had a huge effect on me. We have similar personalities, so on the bus, we were always talking. She was somebody that I could relax around and have her show me the ropes of how Florida volleyball works. Every class since then has been great. Our senior class last year did a great job. Amber McCray was really great and Marcie Hampton has been great as well.”
Bowers also credits her parents, John and Debbie, for playing a major role in her development as a leader.
“It's a different role, but it's a lot of fun too because you can enact change that maybe you have been thinking about, and it's kind of fun,” Bowers said. “I learned it from my parents and how they raised me. They taught me to take control if you have a leadership position and not shy away from it.”
Florida head coach Mary Wise has taken notice of the leadership Bowers provided and was especially impressed with how well she helped lead the team during her time away from the court.
“Something that we ask of our seniors is to provide leadership,” Wise said. “They are coaches on the floor and, when Kelsey's not on the floor, she's still giving instruction and is very involved. Kelsey is a special personality and a great teammate. I think she would do anything we asked of her to help the team get better.”
Bowers is a two-time second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection (2006-07) who led the league in hitting percentage (SEC matches only) with a .402 clip and ranked second overall with a .361 efficiency in 2007. She averaged a team-best 1.31 blocks per game, tying for the third-best average in program history by a junior. Bowers hit .400 or better in 13 matches last season and led or tied for the team lead in blocks on 16 occasions.
Bowers is also a leader in the classroom, where she is a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III selection. She was Volleyball Magazine's Scholar-Athlete of the Month in December 2007 and is a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient.
Bowers is excited to help the team get better and achieve each of its goals this season, especially since it is her last year wearing the Orange and Blue. She believes that the middle blocking corps will be a major component of the success of the 2008 edition of the team.
“Especially in my last year, I want to help make this the best year ever for both me and our team. I want to give as much as I can to make that happen. We have to be a big force at the net and I know we want to do more blocking this year because we have the personnel to do it.
“We have four middle blockers who are all really good and all bring something different to the table. We have a lot of depth at that position where we might not have had that kind of depth in the past. It will be entertaining to see how it all works out.”
Bowers and the Gators open their 2008 campaign on Friday when they play host to UAB at 7 p.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The match will be carried live on the Gator Radio Network (WRUF-AM in Gainesville) and will be shown on GatorVision Online.
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