Photo by Erin Nelson.
Briarwood’s Audrey O’Brien serves during a matchagainst Shelby County at Briarwood Christian School on Oct. 15. O’Brien committed to SamfordUniversity in late July, putting pen to paper and signing Nov. 14.
Audrey O’Brien doesn’t feel like she’s played her best volleyball yet.
That should be music to the ears of the Samford University coaching staff, because that’s where O’Brien will begin her college career next season.
The Briarwood Christian School senior libero capped off her high school career in October, helping lead the Lions to the Class 5A super regional tournament, where Briarwood fell to eventual 5A runner-up Faith Academy.
“It was a good senior season,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien was one of five seniors for the Lions, with Avery Rose Ochsenhirt, Callie Tomlinson, Lauren Danley and Audrey Vickers. She was also a second-team selection to the Starnes Publishing All-South Metro team along with junior outside hitter Emma Crawford. Ochsenhirt and Ansley Greer were honorable mention.
After O’Brien graduates in the spring, she’ll head down the road to Samford, where her older sister, Alexandra, is a student. Alexandra also played volleyball at Briarwood and was a setter.
O’Brien said the lead-up to her junior school season was when she experienced the most significant jump in skill level, but added her growth as a player has largely been steady throughout the past several years.
“I’m still progressing,” O’Brien said of her game. “I haven’t peaked yet.”
O’Brien began playing with the Alabama Performance (formerly Southern Performance) club program during her sophomore year, and made the top team in her age group right off the bat. It was about then she began to think about pursuing the sport beyond high school.
“I really loved [the club] and was like, ‘OK, maybe I’ll play in college,’” she said. “But then when I realized everyone there was going to play in college, and they were all so driven and focusing on the same goal, it made me want it even more.”
On her club team were a couple of familiar faces, notably Chelsea libero Victoria Schmer — an Alabama signee — and outside hitter Zoe LaBreche.
Samford had long been on O’Brien’s radar. In the summer prior to her junior season, Samford hosted a satellite camp at Briarwood and subsequently invited O’Brien to its on-campus camp. O’Brien said she was “so excited” for the camp but was sick and couldn’t perform at her best.
O’Brien thought her performance hurt her chances of landing an offer from Samford, but the school kept in touch with O’Brien throughout her junior school and club seasons.
She was invited back to Samford’s camp last summer and was able to participate without the hindrance of illness. She was about to leave the camp’s final day without an offer, until Samford assistant coach Ryan Freeburg directed her to head coach Keylor Chan and assistant Betsy Freeburg.
“We want you,” O’Brien recalled them telling her.
The offer was extended, and O’Brien committed to Samford in late July, putting pen to paper and signing Nov. 14.
“It was cool how it all happened, because there were so many times when it was just like, ‘Ugh, it’s not going to happen,’” O’Brien said.
O’Brien credited LuAnn Causey, who served as a Briarwood assistant, for helping her throughout the recruiting process, sending emails and staying in touch with schools.
Had the opportunity not arisen at Samford, O’Brien believes she would have played college volleyball somewhere else, but she has hardly entertained that notion.
“I don’t know what would’ve happened, because it worked out so perfectly,” she said.
As for her career at Samford, O’Brien has no plans to just go along for the ride. She hopes to compete for a spot immediately
