Bayli Still-doing-well

Madison junior overcomes lack of experience

By John Galle/senior writer

Playing volleyball in the small town of Steamboat Springs, Colo., developed Bayli Stillwell’s desire for the game, but coming to JMU gave her the opportunity to fulfill her dream of playing Division I volleyball.

Stillwell, a junior right side southpaw, never really thought about playing in college until her freshman year of high school. There were no club teams where she lived, so she lacked some of the experience that colleges looked for in recruits.

“A lot of girls play club, but I never played club,” Stillwell said. “[Coach] Disa Garner’s sister has been best friends with my dad and so she was just like ‘just send a tape’ and they kept pushing and pushing [until I finally did].”

Not expecting that tape to matter, Stillwell was surprised to find that it made an impression on the coaches and earned her a recruiting trip that sealed the deal. 

According to Stillwell, she chose JMU over the University of Denver because she liked JMU’s psychology program — as well as her future teammates.

“The team is really awesome,” Stillwell said. “We have a special chemistry on and off the court and I feel like that’s what drew me here. That’s what keeps me alive and fired up about volleyball.”

Still, she thought the lack of experience would be a barrier in her mind.

“I didn’t expect to play at all as a freshman, but I got time and that was awesome,” Stillwell said.

That time allowed Stillwell to adjust to the system, learn more about the game than ever before, and gain experience at the collegiate level. Between her freshman and sophomore years, her kills nearly doubled, from 86 to 163. Her assists more than doubled from 19 to 49 and her digs increased dramatically from 14 to 86.

Had it not been for Stillwell’s parents, she may have not played volleyball at all. Her mom played in high school and encouraged her to try it.

“I actually almost quit volleyball my freshman year,” Stillwell said. “My parents made me play and I was really angry with them. I wanted to focus on basketball.”

Her parents pushed her to finish a whole season before making a decision.

“Right away I got moved to junior varsity and I think that helped because I was playing with girls who were a little bit better than the freshmen,” Stillwell said. “The coach really encouraged me that if I worked really hard, I could go somewhere.”

Now, Stillwell finds herself setting the example for a young squad this season.  She began by earning the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week award in late September averaging a .552 attack rate and 3.17 kills per game, as the Dukes went 3-0. She had a career-best hitting average of .682 against CAA rival, the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. She also posted another career high this season of 20 kills against Hofstra University. Stillwell felt that being recognized on the collegiate level was special  for her and her hometown.

“When I came here it wasn’t like I was setting those kinds of goals for myself,” Stillwell said. “It was so cool to get that honor. My town is really small and they ran an article in my hometown newspaper, so that was kind of special.”

Looking back to where she is today, Stillwell doesn’t take her spot on the team for granted.

“I remember my first game as a freshman,” Stillwell said. “During the national anthem, I was thinking not everyone gets this opportunity and it’s just incredible to be playing a division one sport — a lot of people wish they could [play at this level] or wish they had gone for it.”