Emily Box calls it a career as Grand View University volleyball team's season ends
Emily Box's body was telling her it was time to move on.
It took her mind a little time to buy into what her body was telling her.
So after 10 years of playing competitive volleyball, the former Holy Trinity Catholic High School all-state player decided it is time to hang up her volleyball uniform for good.
Box, a junior at Grand View University, played her last match last week, finishing off a 14-18 season as an outside hitter for the Vikings.
Two surgeries wiped out her 2021 season, and her body was telling her toward the end of this season that it was time to move on.
Box finally came to that realization.
"I technically have two years left because I redshirted last year and the COVID year. But I decided t move on to graduate school at Iowa State next year. It's time to close this chapter," Box said. "I tore my labrum last year and I had two surgeries within four months of each other. I was able to rebuild the strength and come back and play this season. I'm glad I was able to play this year, but I knew it was going to be my last season. Playing put a lot of stress on my body, so it was good that this was my last season."
Box, who earned all-conference accolades as a freshman, put up respectable numbers this season. in 32 matches, she averaged 1.70 kills, 0.62 digs and 2.0 points per set for the Vikings, who struggled through a 14-18 season under first-year head coach Devon Wells.
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"She did things a little differently than the previous coach, which took a little time to adjust to. But we appreciate her stepping up and coaching the team," Box said. "It was a little rough at the beginning, but we were playing well and the end of the season."
After the Vikings' loss to Central Methodist in the quarterfinals of the Heart of America Tournament, Box took some time to reflect on her career, and her future.
"I went into the locker room and sat down," Box said. "This was the first time we didn't make the national tournament in my four years here. I sat down and I realized this was the last time I was going to take this jersey off. This was the last time I was going to take these shoes off. I have been doing this since high school. It was hard to believe that it was over."
Box, who spent much of 2021 watching her sister, Kayla, play for Holy Trinity, is ready to move on to the next chapter of her life.
Box will continue her study in accounting and business at Iowa State. And for the first time since elementary school, she will get to be an ordinary student.
"I've had a few people ask me if I am going to walk on at Iowa State, but I think that will be too much with all my work in grad school," Box said. "All I've ever known was playing a sport. Volleyball will always be a part of my life. I will play in rec leagues and those kinds of things, but I am ready to see what a normal college life is like. I am excited to experience that."
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA Today Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 32 years at The Hawk Eye. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Former Holy Trinity all-state hitter ends career at Grand View
