On the south side of Ball State’s campus lies Burris Laboratory School. The K-12 institute educates many of the university's staff and faculty’s children.
Near the school grounds is the historic Ball Gymnasium, originally home to Ball State’s basketball teams from 1925 to 1963. The gym now hosts Burris Owls’ basketball and volleyball, one of Indiana’s — and the country’s —most successful programs.
Entering the gym, spectators are met with the scene of banners hanging from the rafters in the Owl's signature blue and gold colorway. A total of 23 state championship banners hang in the gym.
Alongside those state championships are two national championship banners. Although the rafters are full, the storied history of Burris volleyball has been in a slump, according to the Burris community.
The Owls went 10 years without winning an Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) state title, which for most schools, is normal since winning a single title is a tall task. But for Burris, going 10 years without a volleyball state championship was out of the ordinary.
At the forefront of the Burris revival is senior outside hitter Lilly Howell. Howell, who was part of the state champion team last season wants to bring back another title to Burris.
“Everyone is always telling us we need to bring back the tradition,” Lilly Howell said. “Our classmates and everyone in the community wants Burris to bring back that tradition of being in the championship every year. I always tell them ‘We’re really trying,’ and last year was a step in the right direction.”
Last season, Burris waltzed into the state championship game and proceeded to not lose a single set during their postseason run. This year, the team had an almost complete makeover, losing six seniors from the roster.
Howell returns though, along with only seven other upperclassmen, and still thinks this team has the ability to make a run.
“We definitely miss our [players] we lost,” she said. “We’re in sort of a rebuilding year but we’re doing that strongly … We were just working on putting the puzzle together. Now that we put it together and everything is in place, we’re going to be hard to stop.”
Although they returned with a mostly new set of players, Howell believes the Owls still have a target on their back. After winning it all last season, most teams play them harder than they do others.
“Teams are going to want to say, ‘Oh, I beat the state champion’ so we've just had to work around that, and we've had to realize that we have to play hard every single game,” Howell said.
She said this has been a blessing in disguise for her team.
“I think that honestly made us a little bit better this year because we've realized that we've had to play really, really hard every single game, every single point. And if we don't, then we will have to be tougher,” Howell said.
For Howell and her teammates, some losses against teams they have beaten in the past have left them feeling disappointed. One of those losses came against county rival Wapahani — a team Burris defeated en route to their state title last fall.
Although it was a loss, Howell feels she and her teammates were able to use it as a learning moment.
“We played so hard that game, and we fought really hard and we lost, but we grew so much,” Howell said.“... I think that we're more on the right track to dealing with that pressure.”
With a roster loaded with underclassmen, head coach Jim Craig relies on his senior leaders, like Howell, to motivate those players.
“Last year, they had different roles,” Craig said. “Now, they have to kind of be in that hierarchy of leading and helping us do what we’re trying to do. Trying to keep Lilly and other seniors hanging in there for their young teammates to catch up to some stuff in practice has been important. They are doing great and have been great leaders as well.”
Howell came into her high school career with the expectation to compete. What she had not yet realized was how big of a role she would play for the team. Now, with over 1,000 career kills, she has embraced her larger role and those changes over the years.
“I just realized that I was going to be a little bit more needed on the team,” she said. “My freshman year, I was surrounded by seven seniors. So, I just didn't really have to have that role … I realized, I want to get these kills, and I want to put them away, and I want to help us win.”
Along with embracing a larger workload on the court, Howell has stepped up as one of her teammates' most important leaders. They look to her when times are tough, and when they need someone to lean on.
“I learn more and more from her every day about what being a reliable leader looks like,” junior Mya Trammell said. “In stressful or tight situations, mentally, Lilly is a very stable and dependable leader whose willingness and heart are contagious. She is someone the team counts on emotionally and skill-wise.”
Howell has a kind of passion and leadership that cannot be taught. Her teammates notice that every day, and they think that is what sets her apart from other great players.
“There is nothing Lilly cares about more than the growth and success of her teammates,” Tramell said. “Lilly is a special player to me purely because of her heart. She cares so much about this game, and that is a quality that cannot be taught. She sacrifices a lot for her team, and her passion and commitment to this team is not something that goes unnoticed.”
Contact Logan Connor via email at logan.connor@bsu.edu or via X @_loganconnor.
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