Brown Helps Keep Hopes High For Sabers V-ball Fans
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usCampbell High middle blocker Jazmin Brown’s ultimate destination is a major Mainland city, but the scene she’s had on her mind lately is Manoa - inside Stan Sheriff Center at UH, which is the site of November’s Division I New City Nissan state volleyball championships.
“Hopefully, we’ll be the state champion - we all have one goal, and everyone’s working hard,” she said.
Brown enters her senior year as one of the main reasons hopes are high for the Sabers, who are moving up to Division I this fall after a solid 8-5 season in DII a year ago. A second team all-conference pick last season, she’s been on a mission to maximize her multiplying volleyball talents since the moment last season ended, beginning with her decision to join the High Intensity Club, where she played alongside Campbell teammates Oli Kila, Ariel Medlin and Chelsea Wilson.
“It has definitely helped,” said Brown of her club play.“It was new to me and hard at first, but I soon realized that I was getting better and better each day. I started to think I might be able to get a (volleyball) scholarship. The drive has always been there.”
Brown, the oldest of Chris and Patricia Brown’s three children, is a student first, carrying a full load of AP courses. While an academic scholarship is well within reach, Campbell coach Kaui Alohikea-Betham likes Brown’s chances of playing volleyball at the next level as well, especially given her steadying presence.
“She sets high goals and does everything she can to achieve them,” she said. “She’s really grown as a player. Her fundamentals - her basics - have improved quite a bit from last year.
“She’s an example for all of the girls,” added Alohikea-Betham, whose Sabers open their season Aug. 26 at home versus Radford. “She has a good head on her shoulders, and she’s going to be a good leader this year. She motivates them, and she encourages them.”
Said Brown: “(Leading) comes naturally. I like the rush of working as a team toward a goal. We’re definitely headed in the right direction as a team. We trust each other, which is the most important thing.”
When her volleyball career runs its course, Brown could likely find her way into teaching. “Right now, I’m leaning toward becoming a math professor, probably at the college level,” she said. “I want to leave Hawaii, though, and experience the Mainland, maybe in Miami, Virginia or Chicago.”
For the present, Sheriff Center remains at the forefront in her line of vision.
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