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Somewhere on I-64 near the Illinois/Missouri border…
 
"I saw it first!"
 
"No, I saw it first!"
 
Brooke Jackson has always been competitive.
 
It's easy for fans to see that in a Miami Volleyball match. It's simple for Jackson's teammates and coaches to observe that in a RedHawks practice at Millett Hall.
 
But it's hardly a new development.
 
As a child, Jackson remembers competing with her older brother, Blake, about anything and everything…especially who could spot the Gateway Arch first on a road trip.
 
"I have family in St. Louis, so whenever we'd drive there, we'd have a competition to see who could see the Arch first," Jackson laughed. "It would get pretty heated: 'No, I saw it first!'…my brother would sleep in the car and then wake up just to try and find it."
 
There wasn't even a prize on the line back then, only family bragging rights. So it's no surprise that now, as a Division I student-athlete chasing Mid-American Conference trophies, Jackson continues to be known for her competitive spirit and intensity.
 
"I just come from a super-competitive family and I've been super-competitive for as long as I can remember," Jackson said.
 
"I'm very intense when I play: very 'into it', but, I'm also very animated and I cheer really loud and get really excited. So, I'm a passionate player, but when I'm on the court it's a different level. I'm not usually like that all the time.
 
"I remember the first time I started playing [at Miami], I had teammates be like, 'I didn't know what to think because I've never seen you like that before.'
 
"I was taken aback by that, but they said, 'No, I love it!'"
 
"I just think she's a phenomenal competitor," said Miami head coach Carolyn Condit. "Brooke is someone who always plays hard. It doesn't matter how long the match goes.
 
"Where some players start wearing down – and this can be seen on video when certain athletes stop pursuing balls as hard in the second match of the day – not Brooke, she's all over it!
 
"She is about winning and is a very special athlete."
 
Jackson comes by her competitive spirit naturally. Her mother, Kim, played volleyball for the University of Evansville, while her father, Reed, was a Hall of Fame basketball player for UE from 1991-1995.
 
"My parents kept me to a very high standard, and I thank them for that," Brooke said. "My mom knew what it was like playing volleyball at a college level. She knew how hard it was and pushed me, so that helped me a lot…
 
"My mom knew volleyball and my dad knew basketball. He was the assistant coach for my high school basketball team."
 
As a player, Reed Jackson was known for his versatility on the hardwood, not only leading the Purple Aces in steals for all four years, but ranking among the top 40 scorers in program history. In 1995, he averaged 13.8 points a game while also pacing Evansville's squad in rebounds, assists and steals.
 
Similarly, Brooke has been known for her all-around skills as an athlete, no matter the sport. A four-time All-Conference pick, she became the second player ever at Mount Vernon (Ind.) Senior High School to record at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs and graduated as the program's all-time kills leader (1,589).
 
The All-State volleyball player also made headlines after the fourth game of her senior basketball season, producing a rare quadruple-double (11 points, 15 rebounds, 10 blocks and 11 steals) to lead her team to victory. Unfortunately, it was the last full hoops game Jackson would ever play, as a December 2020 ACL tear prematurely ended her high school career just weeks after she signed her letter of intent with Condit's volleyball program.
 
"That was probably one of the hardest things I've had to go through," said Jackson. "I knew I was going to come into a whole next level of play, and now I'm already behind."
 
Jackson admitted that she's just now, in her second full college season, really starting to feel like herself again –not just physically, but mentally— after the long and difficult recovery from the knee surgery she underwent more than two years ago.
 
"I would go up to jump, and I would catch myself being like, 'I have to land on it. Oh, crap!'
 
"It was a big mental thing that I had to get over, more than physical," Jackson continued. "You work on it, and you rehab it strong, but your body has to connect with your brain to trust it.
 
"That was the toughest part, for me at least."
 
However, the grueling recovery process provided at least one silver lining for Jackson. She ended up deciding to pursue a Kinesiology degree at Miami with the goal of possibly being an orthopedic surgeon's physical assistant someday.
 
"I was super involved with my PT [physical therapist], and I loved my orthopedic surgeon," Jackson explained. "He was really good and I trusted him a lot. I know I want to be around sports…so right now, I'm Pre-PA."
 
After redshirting when she joined the RedHawks in 2021 to continue her rehab, a now-healthy Jackson has gone on to make an impact all over the floor for Miami Volleyball, no matter the position or role she's asked to play.
 
"She's helping us at the right pin, and she's helping us at the left pin," Condit said. "I even put a libero shirt on her last year."
 
"Coach knows that if I need to be in there at a certain spot, she can trust me," Jackson said. "I'd never played libero before…but that helped me be a better defender and a better passer…
 
"I just go out there and try really hard and work really hard, no matter where I'm at. I find myself in different places on the court at different times, but it's just whatever the team needs at that time. I'm willing to step in and do it."
 
Unsurprisingly, Jackson has filled up the stat sheet in a variety of categories for the Red and White. The 2022 Academic All-MAC honoree produced 25 digs in a match last season vs. Chattanooga, pounded a season-best 11 kills vs. Kent State and tallied a service ace in 12 different matches.
 
She has already cracked double digits in digs (10 vs. Cleveland State) and kills (10 vs. Florida Atlantic) in matches this fall, and most recently, recorded a career-high four blocks to lift the RedHawks to a thrilling five-set victory at Illinois State Saturday afternoon.
 
"I just want to be known as someone who goes out there and brings as much energy as she can, every time I'm on the court," Jackson said. "I'm going to give it my 100%, no matter how long I'm in there for. I just try to bring a presence and help my team."
 
Although Jackson is known for wearing her emotions on her sleeve, she's also tried to do a better job of keeping her head in the game, so to speak, since arriving in Oxford. Learning to balance her natural exuberance and passion with not overreacting to the highest highs and lowest lows that come with the rollercoaster of a hard-fought match has admittedly been a process.
 
"Dr. [Robin] Vealey has been working with our team (on mental skills), and a big thing we've talked about that has helped me is 'A' face," Jackson said. "If we have a 'B' performance or a 'C' game where we're not playing very well, no one would know, because you have an 'A' face, a calmer persona.
 
"I used to make a mistake and you could see it instantly. Now, it's just, 'Next one."
 
"Coach says, 'I never doubt that you're competitive or passionate, ever.' But hopefully, I keep on changing for the better."
 
Still, while Jackson continues to fine-tune the nuances of her competitive approach, she never wants to lose the essence of who she is as a player and a person. She knows – and Condit agrees – that her drive and passion is what has helped her excel as a player and positioned her to be a key piece for the RedHawks as they look to climb the MAC standings in 2023.
 
"I have people come up and tell me how much they enjoy watching me play, and it's because of my fire that I have when I'm out there," Jackson said.
 
"No matter what's going on or what I'm doing: If I'm in a book club when I'm older, I want to be super-passionate about it!
 
"That's what I want to be remembered as: Someone who's super-passionate and willing to do anything for her team, and the fire that I have when I play."
 
Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures
 
Jackson and the RedHawks return to Millett Hall Thursday, Sept. 21 and Friday, Sept. 22 to get Mid-American Conference play underway vs. Western Michigan. General admission and courtside tickets are available to purchase now!