It doesn't matter if it's a pick-up game in the neighborhood or a state playoff match, Lori Mendenhall is going to do everything she can to win.
If that means playing hurt, so be it.
If that means running lines, bring them on.
If that means taking time to help her younger, less experienced teammates, she will give them whatever they need.
This year's Deseret News Ms. Volleyball is a competitor with the kind of athletic ability that would have made her a success at any sport. The Mendenhalls, however, have a volleyball gene.
The sixth of seven children — six girls and one boy — Lori comes from a long line of setters. Her mom was a setter for BYU, and her older sisters, as well as a cousin, have set for the Brighton High Bengals and at various colleges. Even her only brother married a volleyball player, who played for the University of Utah. Lori will play volleyball for Idaho State next season after a long list of accomplishments, including a new state record in career assists — 3,208 in three years at Brighton.
"She is very athletic," said Brighton's coach and Lori's mom, Kathy Mendenhall. "She's one of those kids who can just play anything. She is a very intense competitor and really fun."
The three-year starter has also developed into the most compassionate and effective kind of leader. Without lecturing or badgering, she instills confidence in her teammates while she helps them develop their own skills and talents.
"They really look to her. She's made everyone on the team feel important," Kathy said. "It's her personality, her leadership. When someone hits a ball into the net, she goes right back to them."
This year, the Bengals weren't expected to be much more than mediocre. Lori was the team's only senior, and realignment put them in the state's most competitive region.
But because of Lori's leadership, the team finished in a tie for second in Region 4, and the Bengals earned a fourth-place finish in the 5A State Tournament. She finished the season with 1,155 assists, 194 digs, 112 kills, a .525 hitting percentage and 32 blocks.
Lori was the driving force behind the team's ability to develop both the skills and the attitude necessary to compete with the state's best teams.
"Lori pushes herself so hard for every practice that some days she can hardly walk," said Kathy. "She has this drive to get better every day she is in the gym. In 2008, she suffered a concussion and stress fracture but would not stay out of the gym. As a mother, I wanted to kill her; as a coach, I admired her drive and determination to make her team better."
Part of the reason the Bengals were able to succeed this season is that Lori Mendenhall established high expectations by giving everything she had, every minute of every practice and every game.
"She gets beat up all the time," said Kathy. "She plays so crazy; it's the way she practices. Her effort will be missed. It wasn't conditional."
Whether it was diving for a ball in a critical match or running lines in practice. Lori gave each task everything she had.
"With her, it didn't matter," said her mom. "She's the kind of kid everyone wants in the gym."
Lori Menhenhall's leadership comes from her self-confidence. Kathy Mendenhall said her second-to-youngest daughter has never really worried about what other people wanted her to be.
"She didn't even wear makeup until her younger sister did," said Kathy. "She is just, 'This is me. This is it.' "
Her steady hand is exactly what the Bengals needed at the helm of their young ship this season.
"She is real low-key," said her father, Bob Mendenhall. "It's not like she swaggers or brags about it. She doesn't look for any recognition. She just goes out and plays. Her teammates like her because she's just a really nice person. She just takes things as they come."
e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com By Amy Donaldson
Deseret News
It doesn't matter if it's a pick-up game in the neighborhood or a state playoff match, Lori Mendenhall is going to do everything she can to win.
If that means playing hurt, so be it.
If that means running lines, bring them on.
If that means taking time to help her younger, less experienced teammates, she will give them whatever they need.
This year's Deseret News Ms. Volleyball is a competitor with the kind of athletic ability that would have made her a success at any sport. The Mendenhalls, however, have a volleyball gene.
The sixth of seven children — six girls and one boy — Lori comes from a long line of setters. Her mom was a setter for BYU, and her older sisters, as well as a cousin, have set for the Brighton High Bengals and at various colleges. Even her only brother married a volleyball player, who played for the University of Utah. Lori will play volleyball for Idaho State next season after a long list of accomplishments, including a new state record in career assists — 3,208 in three years at Brighton.
"She is very athletic," said Brighton's coach and Lori's mom, Kathy Mendenhall. "She's one of those kids who can just play anything. She is a very intense competitor and really fun."
The three-year starter has also developed into the most compassionate and effective kind of leader. Without lecturing or badgering, she instills confidence in her teammates while she helps them develop their own skills and talents.
"They really look to her. She's made everyone on the team feel important," Kathy said. "It's her personality, her leadership. When someone hits a ball into the net, she goes right back to them."
This year, the Bengals weren't expected to be much more than mediocre. Lori was the team's only senior, and realignment put them in the state's most competitive region.
But because of Lori's leadership, the team finished in a tie for second in Region 4, and the Bengals earned a fourth-place finish in the 5A State Tournament. She finished the season with 1,155 assists, 194 digs, 112 kills, a .525 hitting percentage and 32 blocks.
Lori was the driving force behind the team's ability to develop both the skills and the attitude necessary to compete with the state's best teams.
"Lori pushes herself so hard for every practice that some days she can hardly walk," said Kathy. "She has this drive to get better every day she is in the gym. In 2008, she suffered a concussion and stress fracture but would not stay out of the gym. As a mother, I wanted to kill her; as a coach, I admired her drive and determination to make her team better."
Part of the reason the Bengals were able to succeed this season is that Lori Mendenhall established high expectations by giving everything she had, every minute of every practice and every game.
"She gets beat up all the time," said Kathy. "She plays so crazy; it's the way she practices. Her effort will be missed. It wasn't conditional."
Whether it was diving for a ball in a critical match or running lines in practice. Lori gave each task everything she had.
"With her, it didn't matter," said her mom. "She's the kind of kid everyone wants in the gym."
Lori Menhenhall's leadership comes from her self-confidence. Kathy Mendenhall said her second-to-youngest daughter has never really worried about what other people wanted her to be.
"She didn't even wear makeup until her younger sister did," said Kathy. "She is just, 'This is me. This is it.' "
Her steady hand is exactly what the Bengals needed at the helm of their young ship this season.
"She is real low-key," said her father, Bob Mendenhall. "It's not like she swaggers or brags about it. She doesn't look for any recognition. She just goes out and plays. Her teammates like her because she's just a really nice person. She just takes things as they come."
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com