D1 Runner Tries Volleyball — What Happened When a Track Athlete Hit the Court

I am getting slightly above average at track, but that apparently means nothing in volleyball. I found that out the hard way when I stepped onto a volleyball court for the first time in my life and tried to learn the sport from an actual D1 volleyball player at LSU.

Learning Volleyball From an LSU Libero

My coach for the day was Remy Nus, who plays volleyball at LSU as a libero — which, as I quickly learned, is probably the hardest position on the court. Aside from messing around a bit on the beach, I had never set foot on a volleyball court until this day. Remy agreed to act as my coach, taking me through one of her actual practices to prepare me for a one-on-one match against her teammate Ella, who was arriving in less than an hour.

Everything I Thought I Knew Was Wrong

The first thing I learned was that the only volleyball terminology I thought I knew — bump, set, spike — was mostly wrong. Remy corrected me right away: it is a pass and a hit, not a bump and a spike. She explained that your team gets three hits total, and the typical sequence is pass, set, hit. But there are variations, and you have to be ready for anything. As a runner, I am used to knowing exactly what I am doing on any given rep. Volleyball was a completely different world of reacting in real time.

Passing and Serving Drills

Remy started me off with passing, which she described as the foundation of volleyball. She showed me how to hold my arms for a proper platform and told me to lock my wrists together and keep my arms straight. One thing she emphasized was not to swing my arms — instead, I needed to use my legs and angle the platform to direct the ball. It felt completely foreign. In track, everything is about forward momentum. In volleyball, it is about controlled angles and positioning.

Serving came next, and Remy walked me through both an underhand serve and an overhand serve. The underhand serve felt manageable, but the overhand serve was a different story. She told me to toss the ball with my non-dominant hand, reach up high, and make contact at the peak. My first few attempts were embarrassing, but by the end of the session, I was getting some over the net consistently. One interesting detail: Remy mentioned that as a libero, she does not actually serve in a game, but she still practices it regularly.

Learning to Hit — The Three-Step Approach

Hitting was where things got fun. Remy taught me a three-step approach: left, right, left. She explained that the last two steps should be the quickest, and I jump off two feet with my left foot landing last. She told me this is what they teach the little kids — there should be a beat in your head where your last two steps accelerate. As a runner, I could relate to the footwork concept, but the coordination of approaching, jumping, and swinging at a moving ball was completely new. Remy had to set the ball for me multiple times before I made solid contact, and when I finally did, it felt incredible.

A Fun Fact — Rival High Schools to LSU Teammates

During the hitting practice, Remy dropped a fun fact that caught me off guard. She is actually from Kansas City, and we went to rival high schools. The fact that we both ended up as athletes at LSU was a random coincidence that made the whole experience even cooler. It is one of those small-world moments that remind you how connected the athletic community really is.

The One-on-One Match Against Ella

After about an hour of drills, it was time for the main event: a one-on-one match against Ella, another LSU volleyball player. The rules were simple — we played on half the court, each side got three hits even though it was one-on-one, and the first to seven points won. I told myself I was not nervous, but honestly, stepping up to serve against a D1 volleyball player when I had just learned the sport an hour ago was intimidating.

The match did not start well for me. I struggled with my serves early on, and Ella was consistent and composed on her side. But I managed to battle back and tie the score at one point, which genuinely surprised everyone. Ella had moments where she clearly was not expecting my shots, and I had moments where I forgot everything Remy had just taught me. The back-and-forth was entertaining, and the final result came down to the wire. Ella ultimately won, but the fact that I even made it competitive after one hour of training felt like a massive win.

What Track Athletes Can Learn From Volleyball

This experience taught me that being an elite athlete in one sport does not automatically transfer to another. My speed, agility, and general fitness from running D1 track gave me a physical foundation, but volleyball requires a completely different set of skills — reading the ball, positioning, timing your approach, and split-second decision-making. Remy and Ella made everything look effortless, which is the hallmark of athletes who have put in thousands of hours in their sport.

If you are a runner looking to cross-train or just try something new, volleyball is humbling and incredibly fun. I walked away with a new appreciation for what volleyball players do and a reminder that being an athlete means being a lifelong learner. Volleyball is hard — but that is exactly what made this experience worth it.

This is not the first time I have switched sports with a D1 athlete. See what happened when a D1 runner tried diving.