Northwestern University Athletics
Legacy and Growth: Impactful Seniors Approach Their Final Match
11/24/2017 11:45:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
By Zach Wingrove
NUsports.com Correspondent
As Taylor Tashima, Symone Abbott and Gabrielle Hazen line the court for their penultimate home match, they are met with thunderous applause from both home and visiting fans at historic Beardsley Gymnasium in Evanston Township High School. A full crowd is present for Northwestern volleyball's annual Senior Day. And as the three seniors are honored, Wildcat fans reflect on the trio's careers.
It has been a turbulent ride for this senior class — one with plenty of excitement, nervousness, and, most notably, change. All three are leaving at perhaps the most unique juncture in the history of Northwestern volleyball, having experienced a coaching change at the end of their sophomore season and now a stadium change in their senior season. And yet despite all these changes, all three are poised to become some of the most accomplished players in the program's history.
Tashima has logged over 4,000 career assists, something that only three other players in Northwestern history have ever done.
Abbott has hit over 1,500 kills during her four years and is on pace to finish with the third-most career kills in program history by the end of the season.
Hazen has had a historically efficient career and is on pace to finish as one of just six Northwestern players to ever have a hitting percentage higher than .290 in her career.
But what makes the members of this senior class special isn't just their statistical accomplishments. During their time in Evanston, all three have also seen tremendous growth in their personalities as leaders. The trio of seniors all serve as captains this year and are faced with the important task of mentoring the team's promising young talent. Each senior has their own unique leadership style. And each plays an integral role in preparing the future of Northwestern volleyball.
"I need to be on my game every single day, because if I don't do my job, then the hitters can't do their job," Tashima said. "Every second of contact you're in control of things. I love that responsibility."
Of all the players on the team, Tashima is by far the most organized. She is a tactician in everything she does, whether it be planning and reminding the team about scheduling or strategizing on the court and figuring out the best ways to set up her teammates.
"Taylor always gives people reminders of where you're supposed to be and what you're supposed to do," sophomore Sarah Johnson said. "She's very vocal on the court. With her role as a setter she's the leader of the team in every way because she has to be. She's running the offense."
"She's really good in terms of keeping the team organized and keeping the team focused on the goal and the vision of the program at all times," head coach Shane Davis said about the setter from Wilmette, Illinois.
When Davis took over as the program's new head coach at the end of the 2015 season, it was Tashima who took the initiative to inform the new coaching staff about the team before they even stepped foot in their new offices.
"She was connecting us with the group really quickly, telling us a little bit about each person," Davis said. "We wouldn't have been able to make the transition without her leadership and help along the way."
As a captain this season, Tashima has strived to change the culture for the new coming players and create a family atmosphere among the team. Whether it be by creating the team's Big Sister program, helping set up nets before practice or offering the younger players car rides, she said she is committed to putting an emphasis on the little things to create a more inclusive environment.
"I was really nervous when I came here, I didn't really have anyone," Tashima said, recalling her first year. "No one was really showing you the ropes and it wasn't easy starting as a first-year with upperclassmen around. That's why this year with so many first years on the court, it's really about learning and helping them through that transition."
One of Symone Abbott's favorite things to do is make people laugh. It's something she tried to implement into her game on the court, especially when giving advice to the younger players who look up to her.
"Humor is the best way I know to make people get over their mistakes," Abbott says. "Players know when they messed up and they know how to fix it, so it doesn't make sense to try to correct them on that. Just make a joke and smile at them."
"Symone is the social butterfly leader of the team," Davis said. "She does a great job in connecting all the classes together and making sure that we're a tight group and everyone is working, but also having a good time in the end."
While Abbott might be one the team's most friendly and talkative players today, that wasn't always the case for the outside hitter from Northville, Michigan. Despite starting right away, Abbott often kept to herself in her first year, taking several months to get comfortable with the older players around her.
"I didn't speak a lot on the court or outside the court," Abbott said reflecting back on her first year. "I didn't really know the girls very well, so that was scary for me."
Now a captain, Abbott made it her mission to be as approachable and welcoming as possible to the new coming players this season in an effort to make their transition to college volleyball easier than her experience was.
"The second they came in, I was super excited to talk to them and be with them," Abbott said about this year's first-year class. "They knew for a fact that they could talk to me about anything. I've built relationships with all of them, they're just so cool. And they're playing early on like I was playing, so I knew it was important for them to feel comfortable with the seniors and not think there was this big gap between us. Volleyball is volleyball. No matter what your age."
For the past two seasons, Abbott has been among one of the Big Ten's top offensive players. This accomplishment has led to some of the team's highly-touted newcomers, like first-year Alana Walker, looking to Abbott for guidance.
"Symone was one of my biggest role models coming in because she leads in kills and she leads by example," Walker said. "So going into the first game, I really looked to her, and she just calmed me down and told me different things that would help me. She was my biggest role model."
"I think on the court Symone does a good job of helping our young attackers out and giving them feedback," Davis said. "Obviously Symone being a four-year starter has seen a lot in matches and understands situational stuff. So she's had a lot of good conversations on the court with our young group. That's where Symone shines, on the court with her leadership and mentorship."
Gabrielle Hazen loves hearing from fans that they enjoy watching her on the court. It's the biggest compliment she can receive. And that praise doesn't just apply to her making a nice play.
While Hazen didn't see the court consistently until her sophomore season, she has always made an impact as the emotional and vocal leader for the team.
"I always say I never have to look for Gabby; I always know where she is because of her voice," Davis said about his middle blocker from Columbia City, Indiana. "She's just that big voice for us as a program and her teammates. And she owns that role really well."
Hazen came into the program in 2014 as a first-year looking to make an impact right away. But with four other middle blockers ahead of her in the rotation, she was soon relegated to the bench. However, Hazen didn't let this role get her down; instead, she used it as motivation to grow as a vocal leader and cheer her teammates on.
"I like to be everybody's biggest fan," Hazen said. "I still say the bench mob is the best mob, that's where you learn to be a great teammate. And I think I've carried that over in my next three years."
Hazen soon moved into the starting rotation as a sophomore, but has not forgotten about how important her first season was in shaping her as a leader — especially as she heads into her senior season as a captain, looking to pass on guidance to the team's younger players.
"I tried to carry my experience over to this year, knowing that there were going to be a lot of first-years on the court, and that there were also going to be a lot of first-years not seeing the court," Hazen said. "I wanted to make sure they all felt equally important and let them know that their job was still so important to all of us, even in practice. I need them to get better."
When asked about the most important qualities for a leader to have, Northwestern's younger players stressed the importance of being direct while also being supportive and holding one another accountable. According to the coaches and players on the team, Hazen is the player that best fits that description.
"Gabby will hold you accountable," Johnson said. "She might scream at you, but you know her intention."
"She's the one that keeps people in check," Davis said about Hazen. "She's very honest with herself, very honest with her teammates and very honest with us as a staff. If anyone is struggling a little bit, she's always one to grab that teammate, talk to them, and make sure that teammate is ok."
This came into play this past summer, when Walker switched positions in her first weeks at Northwestern. As she moved next to Hazen at middle blocker, Walker looked to the senior for advice.
"After the first week, I was just a wreck," Walker said. "And Gabby was there to tell me it was OK and it gets easier and that she's been through the same thing. So she was a big part of that transition."
"I just encouraged her to not get quiet and, if she had questions, to absolutely ask me," Hazen said, looking back on their conversation. "It was definitely encouraging to me that she came to me with questions. Just because it made me feel like I'm not as intimidating to these girls as I thought I was."
Every now and then, Hazen takes time to reflect on her career and how quickly the time has gone by. She sometimes asks herself, "Am I going to leave a legacy? Did I do all the things I wanted to do?" But she is quick to brush those thoughts away.
"I've been on teams where seniors say, 'Play for me. This is my last year, make it count for me,' and I never wanted to be that senior. Work hard for each other, no matter who's on the court, no matter how old you are, no matter how much experience you have or what your background is. That's my biggest thing."
While each of the three captains have their own unique leadership styles--Tashima with her organization and strategy, Abbott the leader by example and Hazen the voice on the court--
their combined presence on the team helps to create a perfect balance as mentors for the future of Northwestern volleyball.
"All three of us together make the perfect captain because all of us have unique traits," Abbott said. "They've evolved into their roles and I evolved into my personal role. We kind of complete each other in that way."
And although their games are numbered, the seniors are still very much a part of the culture change that is ongoing within the program.
"It's going to take time, but we're all a part of a process," Walker said about the culture change. "And the seniors so positive about it. They know that it's a great thing, and that they were also apart of it. Because this year is part of the process. They want the best for this program, whether they're on the team or not."
"We're changing Northwestern volleyball, we're getting this program where it needs to be and it starts with the first years, making sure they're comfortable stepping up and being leaders," Hazen said. "We need to make sure that's the culture: that everyone, it doesn't matter how old you are, can come into the gym and make an impact."
As they enter the final chapter of their careers at Northwestern, each senior is optimistic that they have left their mark on the program, both on and off the court.
"Oh, it's definitely in a better place," Tashima said. "You see the recruits coming in the gym, they're competing for recruits with the schools that are going to the Final Four every year. And I can't wait to come back a year or two down the road and see all the facilities and be a part of the alumni network. It's a weird feeling knowing I'm never going to come back and be a part of this team, but I know the program is in very very good hands."
"As far as culture, the program is absolutely in a better place," Abbott said. "We're really close. We live together, we do everything together and that's something super special. That's where things start. That's the beginning and volleyball comes after. I think results will start being very immediate and it's going to be really amazing."
"I absolutely think it's in a better place," Hazen said. "Just the feeling and the culture of it, this team is so much closer. It's so encouraging to me knowing that I had a role in that to make Northwestern volleyball what it is and to build off of that."
As a head coach, Davis will be tasked next season with replacing three captains who have each cemented their names in program history. The next year won't get any easier, but he believes the seniors have left his younger players well-equipped to handle the task.
"Our seniors are like the big sisters for our first years," Davis said. "The first years do what the seniors do, whether that's good or bad, and that's what's leading the way. And I hope the seniors understand the impact they have had on our first years. They've been instrumental to the transition."
NUsports.com Correspondent
As Taylor Tashima, Symone Abbott and Gabrielle Hazen line the court for their penultimate home match, they are met with thunderous applause from both home and visiting fans at historic Beardsley Gymnasium in Evanston Township High School. A full crowd is present for Northwestern volleyball's annual Senior Day. And as the three seniors are honored, Wildcat fans reflect on the trio's careers.
It has been a turbulent ride for this senior class — one with plenty of excitement, nervousness, and, most notably, change. All three are leaving at perhaps the most unique juncture in the history of Northwestern volleyball, having experienced a coaching change at the end of their sophomore season and now a stadium change in their senior season. And yet despite all these changes, all three are poised to become some of the most accomplished players in the program's history.
Tashima has logged over 4,000 career assists, something that only three other players in Northwestern history have ever done.
Abbott has hit over 1,500 kills during her four years and is on pace to finish with the third-most career kills in program history by the end of the season.
Hazen has had a historically efficient career and is on pace to finish as one of just six Northwestern players to ever have a hitting percentage higher than .290 in her career.
But what makes the members of this senior class special isn't just their statistical accomplishments. During their time in Evanston, all three have also seen tremendous growth in their personalities as leaders. The trio of seniors all serve as captains this year and are faced with the important task of mentoring the team's promising young talent. Each senior has their own unique leadership style. And each plays an integral role in preparing the future of Northwestern volleyball.
***
Taylor Tashima has always embraced the leadership role. As the team's setter and a four-year starter, she realizes the importance her position has on the rest of her teammates."I need to be on my game every single day, because if I don't do my job, then the hitters can't do their job," Tashima said. "Every second of contact you're in control of things. I love that responsibility."
Of all the players on the team, Tashima is by far the most organized. She is a tactician in everything she does, whether it be planning and reminding the team about scheduling or strategizing on the court and figuring out the best ways to set up her teammates.
"Taylor always gives people reminders of where you're supposed to be and what you're supposed to do," sophomore Sarah Johnson said. "She's very vocal on the court. With her role as a setter she's the leader of the team in every way because she has to be. She's running the offense."
"She's really good in terms of keeping the team organized and keeping the team focused on the goal and the vision of the program at all times," head coach Shane Davis said about the setter from Wilmette, Illinois.
When Davis took over as the program's new head coach at the end of the 2015 season, it was Tashima who took the initiative to inform the new coaching staff about the team before they even stepped foot in their new offices.
"She was connecting us with the group really quickly, telling us a little bit about each person," Davis said. "We wouldn't have been able to make the transition without her leadership and help along the way."
As a captain this season, Tashima has strived to change the culture for the new coming players and create a family atmosphere among the team. Whether it be by creating the team's Big Sister program, helping set up nets before practice or offering the younger players car rides, she said she is committed to putting an emphasis on the little things to create a more inclusive environment.
"I was really nervous when I came here, I didn't really have anyone," Tashima said, recalling her first year. "No one was really showing you the ropes and it wasn't easy starting as a first-year with upperclassmen around. That's why this year with so many first years on the court, it's really about learning and helping them through that transition."
***
One of Symone Abbott's favorite things to do is make people laugh. It's something she tried to implement into her game on the court, especially when giving advice to the younger players who look up to her.
"Humor is the best way I know to make people get over their mistakes," Abbott says. "Players know when they messed up and they know how to fix it, so it doesn't make sense to try to correct them on that. Just make a joke and smile at them."
"Symone is the social butterfly leader of the team," Davis said. "She does a great job in connecting all the classes together and making sure that we're a tight group and everyone is working, but also having a good time in the end."
While Abbott might be one the team's most friendly and talkative players today, that wasn't always the case for the outside hitter from Northville, Michigan. Despite starting right away, Abbott often kept to herself in her first year, taking several months to get comfortable with the older players around her.
"I didn't speak a lot on the court or outside the court," Abbott said reflecting back on her first year. "I didn't really know the girls very well, so that was scary for me."
Now a captain, Abbott made it her mission to be as approachable and welcoming as possible to the new coming players this season in an effort to make their transition to college volleyball easier than her experience was.
"The second they came in, I was super excited to talk to them and be with them," Abbott said about this year's first-year class. "They knew for a fact that they could talk to me about anything. I've built relationships with all of them, they're just so cool. And they're playing early on like I was playing, so I knew it was important for them to feel comfortable with the seniors and not think there was this big gap between us. Volleyball is volleyball. No matter what your age."
For the past two seasons, Abbott has been among one of the Big Ten's top offensive players. This accomplishment has led to some of the team's highly-touted newcomers, like first-year Alana Walker, looking to Abbott for guidance.
"Symone was one of my biggest role models coming in because she leads in kills and she leads by example," Walker said. "So going into the first game, I really looked to her, and she just calmed me down and told me different things that would help me. She was my biggest role model."
"I think on the court Symone does a good job of helping our young attackers out and giving them feedback," Davis said. "Obviously Symone being a four-year starter has seen a lot in matches and understands situational stuff. So she's had a lot of good conversations on the court with our young group. That's where Symone shines, on the court with her leadership and mentorship."
***
Gabrielle Hazen loves hearing from fans that they enjoy watching her on the court. It's the biggest compliment she can receive. And that praise doesn't just apply to her making a nice play.
While Hazen didn't see the court consistently until her sophomore season, she has always made an impact as the emotional and vocal leader for the team.
"I always say I never have to look for Gabby; I always know where she is because of her voice," Davis said about his middle blocker from Columbia City, Indiana. "She's just that big voice for us as a program and her teammates. And she owns that role really well."
Hazen came into the program in 2014 as a first-year looking to make an impact right away. But with four other middle blockers ahead of her in the rotation, she was soon relegated to the bench. However, Hazen didn't let this role get her down; instead, she used it as motivation to grow as a vocal leader and cheer her teammates on.
"I like to be everybody's biggest fan," Hazen said. "I still say the bench mob is the best mob, that's where you learn to be a great teammate. And I think I've carried that over in my next three years."
Hazen soon moved into the starting rotation as a sophomore, but has not forgotten about how important her first season was in shaping her as a leader — especially as she heads into her senior season as a captain, looking to pass on guidance to the team's younger players.
"I tried to carry my experience over to this year, knowing that there were going to be a lot of first-years on the court, and that there were also going to be a lot of first-years not seeing the court," Hazen said. "I wanted to make sure they all felt equally important and let them know that their job was still so important to all of us, even in practice. I need them to get better."
When asked about the most important qualities for a leader to have, Northwestern's younger players stressed the importance of being direct while also being supportive and holding one another accountable. According to the coaches and players on the team, Hazen is the player that best fits that description.
"Gabby will hold you accountable," Johnson said. "She might scream at you, but you know her intention."
"She's the one that keeps people in check," Davis said about Hazen. "She's very honest with herself, very honest with her teammates and very honest with us as a staff. If anyone is struggling a little bit, she's always one to grab that teammate, talk to them, and make sure that teammate is ok."
This came into play this past summer, when Walker switched positions in her first weeks at Northwestern. As she moved next to Hazen at middle blocker, Walker looked to the senior for advice.
"After the first week, I was just a wreck," Walker said. "And Gabby was there to tell me it was OK and it gets easier and that she's been through the same thing. So she was a big part of that transition."
"I just encouraged her to not get quiet and, if she had questions, to absolutely ask me," Hazen said, looking back on their conversation. "It was definitely encouraging to me that she came to me with questions. Just because it made me feel like I'm not as intimidating to these girls as I thought I was."
Every now and then, Hazen takes time to reflect on her career and how quickly the time has gone by. She sometimes asks herself, "Am I going to leave a legacy? Did I do all the things I wanted to do?" But she is quick to brush those thoughts away.
"I've been on teams where seniors say, 'Play for me. This is my last year, make it count for me,' and I never wanted to be that senior. Work hard for each other, no matter who's on the court, no matter how old you are, no matter how much experience you have or what your background is. That's my biggest thing."
***
While each of the three captains have their own unique leadership styles--Tashima with her organization and strategy, Abbott the leader by example and Hazen the voice on the court--
their combined presence on the team helps to create a perfect balance as mentors for the future of Northwestern volleyball.
"All three of us together make the perfect captain because all of us have unique traits," Abbott said. "They've evolved into their roles and I evolved into my personal role. We kind of complete each other in that way."
And although their games are numbered, the seniors are still very much a part of the culture change that is ongoing within the program.
"It's going to take time, but we're all a part of a process," Walker said about the culture change. "And the seniors so positive about it. They know that it's a great thing, and that they were also apart of it. Because this year is part of the process. They want the best for this program, whether they're on the team or not."
"We're changing Northwestern volleyball, we're getting this program where it needs to be and it starts with the first years, making sure they're comfortable stepping up and being leaders," Hazen said. "We need to make sure that's the culture: that everyone, it doesn't matter how old you are, can come into the gym and make an impact."
As they enter the final chapter of their careers at Northwestern, each senior is optimistic that they have left their mark on the program, both on and off the court.
"Oh, it's definitely in a better place," Tashima said. "You see the recruits coming in the gym, they're competing for recruits with the schools that are going to the Final Four every year. And I can't wait to come back a year or two down the road and see all the facilities and be a part of the alumni network. It's a weird feeling knowing I'm never going to come back and be a part of this team, but I know the program is in very very good hands."
"As far as culture, the program is absolutely in a better place," Abbott said. "We're really close. We live together, we do everything together and that's something super special. That's where things start. That's the beginning and volleyball comes after. I think results will start being very immediate and it's going to be really amazing."
"I absolutely think it's in a better place," Hazen said. "Just the feeling and the culture of it, this team is so much closer. It's so encouraging to me knowing that I had a role in that to make Northwestern volleyball what it is and to build off of that."
As a head coach, Davis will be tasked next season with replacing three captains who have each cemented their names in program history. The next year won't get any easier, but he believes the seniors have left his younger players well-equipped to handle the task.
"Our seniors are like the big sisters for our first years," Davis said. "The first years do what the seniors do, whether that's good or bad, and that's what's leading the way. And I hope the seniors understand the impact they have had on our first years. They've been instrumental to the transition."
••••••
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