Growing up in Ashe County, North Carolina, Liberty University’s Women’s Volleyball sophomore Paige Overcash was surrounded by sports early on.
“I got into a lot of different sports,” Overcash said. “I ended up doing track, basketball and volleyball in high school and a little bit of softball for a year.”
Though basketball held her interest for many years, it was not until her freshman year at Ashe County High School that she found her true love for the sport of volleyball.
“Volleyball was not a huge sport where I’m from just because that was kind of always a basketball school,” Overcash said. “So everyone grew up going to basketball games. For me, I think volleyball just brought something different.”
As Overcash began focusing more on the sport, she moved to a new club, Carolina Select, to expand her talents.
“This is kind of where I started really getting into volleyball and pursuing the next level,” Overcash said. “Ashe (County) was a smaller town, so there wasn’t as much opportunity as far as big clubs in that area.”
Overcash said many of her volleyball coaches and teammates have inspired her, but two in particular had lasting impacts during the major turning points of her career.
“Coach Rollins, when I was a younger girl, she was kind of like the boss of volleyball in Ashe County. She helped me grow a lot in that and helped bring out that love I had for it,” Overcash said. “Lacy Rowe from Carolina Select also has (had) a huge impact on me. She really believed in me my whole time.”
Overcash said Rowe saw potential in her despite her humble beginnings, and she owes a lot of her successes to her.
As the time came for Overcash to commit to a collegiate program, she leaned on the Lord to give her discernment and wisdom in her choices.
“This was something that I prayed for for a while, so I knew the Lord was going to direct me where I needed to be,” Overcash said, “I just kind of trusted he would give me that feeling and obviously Liberty has a great Christian atmosphere and it has been for a while.”
Liberty was the first school to reach out to Overcash during her recruiting process, and she saw many drawing points for committing to the program.
“I actually came for two years to the team camp that they have here where all the recruits get to know each other,” Overcash said. “You kind of get to live the college life and be with the girls that can potentially play with you and just be in that atmosphere. … I really felt the Lord’s presence here, so it was kind of a no-brainer for me.”
Overcash was drawn in by the way the Lady Flames pride themselves on being a tight-knit group of girls.
“You go through challenges together; you go through great times together. Sports are something where the feelings and experiences, you cannot really have outside of that,” Overcash said. “The fact that I get to spend that with all my teammates, it is impossible to not form an amazing bond like that.”
While only in her second year at Liberty, Overcash is currently majoring in public health with aspirations to attend physician assistant school after Liberty to become a practitioner in dermatology.
“Dermatology was kind of something that interested me since middle school. It is a little passion of mine,” Overcash said. “I have always been interested in the human body, super fascinated with how we work, and I think there are so many things that people do not realize can influence health and give us a better experience in life.”
Through all her achievements in sports and academics, Overcash says that her faith is the most important thing about her, and above all, that is what she wants everyone to remember her for.
“My time at Liberty has made it (my faith) so much stronger, which is exactly why I felt like the Lord drew me to Liberty,” Overcash said. “Obviously, there is going to be a lot of challenges in sports, but building my foundation on the Lord, something that is consistent … something I can always come back to realizing there is a reason for every struggle and every triumph.”
Schlösser is the asst. sports editor for the Liberty Champion.