As the Utah State Eastern volleyball team prepares for their home volleyball games this weekend, one player found her way on the team the hard way.
Utah State Eastern head coach Danielle Jensen knows it and appreciates freshman Kennedy Springer and the fight she brings in practice and in life.
“She is fighting every day, day in and day out to be here and play on this team,” said Jesnsen.
When Springer suited up for basketball during her junior year at Delta High School, she thought that her career in athletics, especially volleyball, would take off.
In both her junior and senior years of high school she tore her ACL in her knee while playing basketball. But it would end up being something that would hinder the opportunity to achieve her dream of playing college volleyball.
While at Delta, she was a well-decorated athlete, picking up Utah 3A volleyball defensive of player of the year honors and was first-team all-state as well.
When it was time to graduate as Delta’s co-valedictorian in 2013, she had only a few walk-on opportunities to play volleyball. She decided to go to Snow College on a full-ride academic scholarship and focus on schooling with her dream of playing ball on hold. After graduating from Snow, she moved on to Southern Utah University and studied nutrition.
In her free time, Kennedy enjoys the outdoors and fitness, so in early 2016, she was training for an upcoming marathon that summer at the end of her junior year at SUU. During her training in May 2016, she started to get really tired almost instantly throughout the day.
“It was progressively getting worse and I thought I was just out of shape. I worked 9-6 p.m. and could not stay awake,” said Kennedy.
A few months later when she went to the doctor, they found that she had a swollen lymph node. Initially, they thought it was a deep skin infection, but it did not go away fully. The next month Kennedy went to the doctors again for a CT scan and a biopsy to get more results.
Even with uncertainty about what was wrong with her health, she went back to school to begin her senior year of college at SUU.
On September 16, 2016, she finally received answers from her tests and was diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“It was honestly a relief to find out that it was that instead of just me not being motivated,” Kennedy said.
Her cancer fight began that September, and every two weeks she had treatment for it. After class every other Thursday, she would go to treatment that would last three to five hours.
She finished her treatments in March. She had 12 total treatments, and in April, she did a scan to check if the treatments cleared her cancer. The results came back clear, and she graduated Summa Cum Laude from SUU cancer free.
With her dream of playing volleyball in her mind, she came to a realization during treatments.
“During my treatments, I came to realize that life throws things at you and so you need to accomplish the things you really want to do. Since I was young I have always wanted to play college volleyball and I wanted to accomplish that,” said Kennedy.
While taking classes and doing treatments, she attended her younger sister Sidney’s volleyball games. Last year, Sidney led the Eagles in scoring as a freshman and is a team captain on this year’s squad.
Kennedy reached out to Jensen in the spring after meeting her at Sidney’s games the previous season. She emailed Jensen to ask if there was any way that she could come play.
Five days after her last chemo treatment, Kennedy went and worked out with the volleyball team during spring practices. Jensen agreed to allow her to walk on to the team and help fulfill her lifelong goal of playing college volleyball.
Sidney was ecstatic when she found out she would have the unique opportunity to finish her career with her sister in Price.
“It is nice to have her here because it is fun to play with my sister because not many people get to play with your sister,” said Sidney.
Knowing that she was able to be on the team this fall gave Kennedy a boost in the treatment process that she didn’t have before.
“The knowledge of being allowed to come play volleyball gave me a change in attitude and motivation in my treatments. It helped me get through those last treatments,” said Kennedy.
Jensen said she believed that volleyball would give the escape she needs from the battle she had been going through.
“Volleyball is a sport that can give you an out for everything. I tell my team whenever we play that this is the time where they can escape from the everyday stresses and obstacles,” said Jensen.
During the summer of 2017, Kennedy spent most of her time working to help save money for the upcoming school year to play volleyball. She traveled through Utah, Wyoming and Idaho as a volleyball coach helping with clinics and camps for work.
When she arrived on campus in August for training camp with the team, she faced early adversity with some minor injuries.
She was able to play in her first match when the Eagles took on Eastern Arizona in Prescott, Arizona, during the second weekend of the season.
After that moment of coming into the game to help the Eagles pick up their sixth-straight win, Kennedy was thrilled to know she finally found a way to accomplish her dream.
“It was exciting to get in and realize that my body can keep going and play this game,” she said.
Now as the season is getting older, Kennedy is continuing to help the No. 18 team in the nation continue its historic season.
Her example on and the off the court has been a benefit for the Eagles, including her own sister and coach.
“Kennedy is the most dedicated, caring and hardworking person you will ever meet. She puts in everything she has whether it be school, volleyball or work,” said Sidney.
Jensen echoed Sidney’s comments and said that coaching Kennedy has been a very humbling and positive experience for her and her team.
“She is amazing. She probably is the hardest working person that I have ever coached. The drive she has and the way she pushes her teammates is incredible,” said Jensen.
Most schools do a pink-themed game to promote breast cancer awareness in the month of October. Jensen’s team will also be doing it, but this time with a more personal touch.
Loren Miller is a graduate of Brigham Young University-Idaho and a Graduate Assistant at Utah State Eastern, a junior college in Price. EMAIL: loren.miller@usu.edu