By Nicholas Proch
As the Blue Devils prepared for NEC tournament this past weekend against Sacred Heart, the team’s focus never strayed as attention was given to junior Emily Cochran.
During the team’s match against Long Island University, Cochran scored her 1,000th kill in the second set. Time was stopped as scores were checked to make sure that she had reached the number before taking the ball out of play for her to keep.
Cochran, who was born and raised in Adel, Iowa, has enjoyed being able to call New Britain home for the past three years as she’s become one of highest scoring players in team history.
With her only focus being on a potential victory, she was not aware that she had reached the historic number.
“My mom had told me I was getting close to it,” said Cochran. “The coaches pulled me aside before the game and told me I would probably reach it that game, but I wasn’t focused on it while I was concentrating on the match.”
It was a moment for Cochran that only a handful of other athletes have seen before her at CCSU. She now stands just outside of the top-5 in career kills as a Blue Devil. The achievement was made note of as the officials and coaches paused to recognize Cochran.
“They actually stopped the play, they got the ball that I had hit it with and kept it aside and announced that I had reached my 1,000th kill,” she said. “It was really nice of them.”
It was that family feeling that made her choose CCSU over the other schools that she was deciding on, now over four years ago.
“When I first started getting recruited by schools, I took a lot of tours,” said Cochran. “When I came out here, it was just a different feeling. The coaches are very open and they’re almost like parents to us.”
That’s a feeling that is shared by the coaching staff as well. “Emily has matured so nicely over the years here and she is the complete player,” said volleyball Head Coach Linda Sagnelli. “Watching her, I’ve been able to see her grow up as a student of the game.”
Sagnelli realizes the importance that Cochran has in the team’s success. “She’s our go-to hitter, she’s the person that we look to when we’re out of system,” added Sagnelli. “When the pass is not good, she’s going to get the most swings.”
It’s the work that Cochran has put in with her team and coaching staff that has made her the player she is now. “My freshman year I was really hard on myself when I would make a mistake,” she said. “But Coach helped me realize that you can’t dwell on those mistakes. Learning to let go, and keep going, has helped me and the other girls the last few years.”
The Blue Devils were eliminated from the NEC tournament, falling to the second-seeded SHU, in four sets, but Cochran continued to lead the team. The junior, Second Team All-American finished the day with 18 kills, 13 digs and four blocks.
With one year left for Cochran to play, she has the chance to leave CCSU with enough kills to be in the top three in Blue Devil history and she just needs over 350 next season to reach that level. This year she had well over 400 kills.
As for the ball that she hit her 1,000th kill with?
“I want the team to sign it, because I could never have done it without them.”