To the casual fan, it may seem that freshman defensive specialist Emily Doss was lucky when choosing to join the UCA volleyball team.
The team is off to its best start under Coach Jeni Chatman’s tenure, and has accomplished one of its biggest
wins in the program’s recent history by ending the University of Texas A&M- Corpus Christi’s 43-game conference win streak
However, Doss believes her recruitment to UCA was one of divine intervention.
“It was actually a God thing. It really was,” Doss said. “I was really stressed about it, and just prayed, and it all came together.”
Previous UCA coaches began recruiting Doss during her sophomore year of high school.
After the coaches transitioned to Mississippi State University, Doss considered going there instead.
Doss was coming home from a volleyball tournament in Colorado, when her mom noticed a UCA coach’s wallet
falling out of one of their pockets.
After Doss’s mom caught their attention, the coaches noticed Emily from playing with the Ozark Juniors
Volleyball Club in northwest Arkansas.
UCA didn’t contact her right away, but after a few months UCA made an offer, and Doss felt that UCA was the program for her.
Doss grew up in Springdale, Arkansas with her mom, dad and older brother.
Growing up, Doss played many sports including soccer, basketball and softball.
Her family went on a vacation to Mexico when she was 8 years old, and there, Doss found her passion for volleyball.
She joined the Ozark Juniors Volleyball Club, and continued her volleyball career at Har-Ber High School in Springdale.
In high school, Doss was a two-time All-State selection. She was also named to the All Arkansas Preps second team in 2015 and was named the best defense specialist at the Delta Region High Performance camps.
She set school and state records for digs, and had 708 digs in her senior season.
Despite her experience and success in high school, Doss said she has never played for a team like UCA’s volleyball team.
“Coming into the team, they accepted you as a teammate and as a person,” Doss said. “They all have the same mindset, and all really want it, and will work together as hard as they can. This is an important year, because they have the talent and determination.”
While Doss is accomplishing her goals on the court, she is also working on goals off the court.
She is majoring in health sciences and hopes to become a pediatric physical therapist.
She has always loved kids, and especially wants to help young athletes recover and reach their full potential.
Doss has learned a lot from volleyball that she can use outside of the sport.
“In my position, you have to be a leader on the court,” Doss said. “Communication and time management. Knowing how to persevere in anything and not give up. Whatever good comes out, it’s going to come from hard work and commitment.”
Doss doesn’t have much spare time with the busy student-athlete schedule, but when she does, she enjoys being outdoors, especially fishing.
