Crawford, RedHawks Set for Success

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Sophie Crawford has been waiting a very long time to play for Miami Volleyball at Millett Hall.

This week, she should finally get her chance.

Crawford is one of six freshmen on the Miami Volleyball roster as the RedHawks prep for their first two home matches of the season (Sept. 26 and 27 at 6:30 p.m. against Central Michigan to get MAC play underway).

It's the next step in a journey that has had its share of twists and turns since the 6-foot-2 setter first committed to join the Red and White in April 2023.

"It's been an amazing whirlwind of a year," Crawford said with a smile. Sophie Crawford

The decision to attend Miami had been an easy one for the Kalamazoo, Mich. native. "When I got on a visit here, I loved it," said Crawford. "The campus is beautiful. And when I looked at all the facilities, I thought, 'Wow. This is insane. I can see myself here, going to school here and playing volleyball here.'"

However, when longtime head coach Carolyn Condit announced last fall that she would retire after four decades leading the program, Crawford wasn't sure what to expect.

"Obviously Dan [head coach Dan Gwitt] didn't recruit me, so I was a little scared about that," Crawford said. "But when I looked at his background, I realized, 'Wow, this guy is legit. He's the real deal.'

"Then I had a phone call with him, which went really well…hearing his whole philosophy and everything. Coming from Penn State and his background with Indiana, he's had crazy setters and crazy athletes. So it was like, 'Oh my gosh. Yes, I want to play for him.'"

Crawford and the rest of the freshman class –Karina May, Lydia Michelin, Ana Vetter, Jess Walkenhorst and Micah Wall– stayed in a house together in Oxford this summer, which helped the incoming group gel after initially getting recruited to the program at different times and by different coaches.

"It was really cool, because we all got to really get to know one another," Crawford explained. "Obviously coming in as freshmen, you're just finding the ropes and feeling it out, so it was good that we relied on one another…we have another four years, and getting those connections is going to really help us."

On the floor, it hasn't taken long at all for Crawford's athletic ability to shine through in her rookie season. She has played multiple sets in each of Miami's last five matches, including dishing out a career-high 36 assists with nine digs and five blocks in a sweep of Xavier last Friday to help Miami capture a winning record in non-conference play (now 6-5).

Crawford's first start for the Red and White came the previous weekend at the Popcorn Classic in Valparaiso, Ind., where she promptly earned All-Tournament honors with her family in attendance cheering her on.

Gentry Warrick and Sophie Crawford

"It was amazing to have my parents there," said Crawford. "I felt like I was on top of the world!"

Saying that sports run in Crawford's family might be a bit of an understatement. Her father, Chris Crawford, was drafted by the MLB's Houston Astros but went on to play for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks from 1997-2004. Her mother, Stacy (Stanton) Crawford, was a two-sport athlete at Indiana State, including earning All-Conference recognition in volleyball.

Sophie herself played four sports growing up, following in the footsteps of parents who combined to earn 19 varsity letters at their high school in a half-dozen different sports. However, she gradually phased out basketball, soccer and softball so she could concentrate on playing volleyball year-round by the time she reached ninth grade.

It didn't take long from there to prove that she had the skills to play at the next level.

"She's all of 6-2, so: Gene pool, check. Height, check. And she has fantastic hands – some of the best hands I've ever seen," said Gwitt. "So there were some initial things right away that I saw, where it seemed, 'Oh, this could be really exciting. She could be really good.'

"And Sophie's super competitive. She doesn't like to lose. She's a winner…

"You combine all of that: She's excited about Miami, she's physical, she's athletic, she's competitive and she can set. She still has a huge [amount of] room to grow in other parts of her game…but she's someone who can have a real storybook career the next few years."

Crawford and the RedHawks have embraced Gwitt's high expectations and winning mentality from day one, and they are eager to see how the team stacks up in the MAC in his debut season at the helm.

"I told her…you're walking into a roster that expects to win, and I expect you to think that we're going to win. Look at the national title last year: They had two freshman setters," said Gwitt. "No excuses. You've got to come in and compete." Sophie Crawford posed

"Dan's main thing is: We're going to win. We expect to win. That's what we're here for…and you have to come in every single day with that belief and that mindset," Crawford said.

"We have the talent on this team and we expect to win and Dan puts that in our minds, and it's a good feeling to have. We know everyone on the team supports one another, and I think carrying that into MAC play will definitely set us apart….

"We're hungry for it," she continued, reiterating the word over and over for emphasis: "Winning. Winning. Winning. Winning.

"Winning is hard, especially in Division I volleyball," Crawford added. "But once you do win, you just want it even more. You crave it. That's what I think will stick out when you watch Miami Volleyball: We're hungry.

"And we're ready for the MAC."

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures.

Don't miss a Miami Volleyball match at Millett Hall, beginning with this week's pair of contests against Central Michigan (Sept. 26 and 27 at 6:30 p.m. each night). Season tickets and single-match tickets are available for purchase now!

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Sophie Crawford

Karina May

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Ana Vetter

Jess Walkenhorst

Micah Wall

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