One for all: Creed's selfless love for volleyball has Ontario Warriors on the rise

ONTARIO — The instant Lena Creed fell in love with volleyball, she knew exactly why.

The Ontario senior isn't one for glory. She doesn't crave attention on the court. She doesn't care if she isn't the one who is praised after games for sending down 30 kills or handing out 45 assists. She doesn't care if she gets to play in the front row of any match.

She only cares about winning.

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So, when it came time to enter the high school volleyball world, all she wanted to do was help her team win and she was the perfect candidate for one of the most important and underappreciated positions in the sport - libero.

"I came in freshman year, and there was already a set libero," Creed said. "So, I just played how I normally play. I was scared being a freshman, but I was never really told anything. I was just put in the game, and I have been a libero ever since."

You know those volleyball players who look like they forgot which jersey to bring to the match so they flipped a coin and brought the wrong one? That's Creed. She is the Ontario Warriors' defensive specialist who only plays in the back row and whose only jobs are to prevent the ball from touching the floor and to make a crisp pass up to the front.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

It is far from easy. Liberos are usually getting the other team's best shot. Speedy spikes and well-placed tips go to Creed to die when she is on the court. In her four-year career, she has been credited with 1,295 digs. She had 280 as a freshman, 365 as a sophomore and jumped that up to an incredible 554 as a junior when she earned first team All-District and first team All-Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference honors.

Her junior year performance led the Warrior to their first sectional championship and district tournament berth since 2003.

She isn't one for the eye-catching stats like kills, blocks and assists. She only has seven kills for her entire career. Blocks? That's funny. Assists? She does have 69 of them when she has to make a perfect pass on a second hit.

And yet, she doesn't crave those stats. She doesn't want to give hitting a try. Or setting for that matter. She is fine right where she is.

"It always makes me want to do better," Creed said. "The hitters always get all the credit. It's just how it is, but I am the one picking up what the hitters are putting down, and it is my job to keep them from getting those kills."

And she does a darn good job of it. Of her 1,295 digs, she has only recorded 191 errors. She actually went errorless during her freshman season making the libero position her spot for good. Mix in her 1,544 career serve receptions and just 135 errors and she is as sure handed of a libero as anyone will find.

"She doesn't care about stats," said Natalie Shell, Ontario coach and Creed's older cousin. "She is such a team player and even if deep down, she cares about her own stats, she doesn't show it. She just doesn't want a ball to hit the floor.

"The position definitely picked her. She has been playing it since she was a freshman, which is before I arrived at Ontario. I always joked with her (the way cousins do) that she was a little tall to be a libero, but I also always joke with her that she can't jump so she is perfect for that spot. She is our back-row player and isn't afraid to hit the ground. She is perfect back there."

And that's no exaggeration. For her career, she is averaging 18 digs per match. During her senior season, where the Warriors are 2-1, she is averaging a career-high 32. She has 96 digs in three games and seems well on her way to 1,500 for her career.

And it doesn't happen by accident.

"It is very mental because not only do you have to dig the ball out, but you have to make sure it is a great pass, too," Creed said. "You have to have the intensity to go after every single ball. Every ball is yours. Everyone in the back row is looking at you to pass the ball up and get the attack started. So, it is a huge responsibility."

And a responsibility she has managed very well. And one that has grown rapidly throughout her career. As she sits and watches junior varsity games, she receives hugs and well wishes from elementary-aged kids who are coming to catch a glimpse of their favorite player, the one in the wrong colored jersey. It is an impact Creed is making off of the court with her play and attitude on it that is leaving a lasting legacy more than her stats.

"It makes me feel good and makes me want to keep encouraging everyone who is coming up," Creed said. "I want the next libero to come in and say they want to play just like me because I give it my all, all the time."

It also comes with a bit of sacrifice. After a promising sophomore softball season where she had five hits, four RBIs and scored nine runs for the district champion Warriors and played a lockdown right field with a .917 fielding percentage, Creed made a business decision. She was going to bypass her junior softball season to put all of her eggs in the volleyball basket. After a big junior volleyball season, she is hoping to make her senior year the best yet.

"I would have to go late to my practices for club volleyball because of softball," Creed said. "My mental state during softball was not great because I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed volleyball. So, I decided not to play softball and focus on volleyball."

So far, the move paid off. In today's high school sports world, it is nearly impossible to be impactful in multiple sports. Individualization is all the rage, but it is because of the time demand put on athletes from each individual sport.

"Club sports have grown so much to the point that they are almost taking over high school sports," Creed said. "For most clubs, club teams come first and high school comes second so it is extremely difficult to be a multisport athlete today."

So, Creed decided to do what she loved and drop something she just liked. So far, so good.

"She played at one of the top levels of her club team, which helped her so much," Shell said. "She played against girls who were older and more experienced, and she learned a lot. Playing volleyball in the winter and spring helps so much. She took that leap, and it took her to that next step."

And that next step has made Shell's job easier. With the defensive side locked down thanks to Creed, Shell can work on improving the Warriors' weaker spots.

"We are strong in six rotations," Shell said. "A lot of teams we play, we know that when a certain player is in the front row, they are strong, or when a player is in the back row, they are strong. We have six strong rotations and when I don't have to worry about our defense because Lena is back there allows us to focus on different aspects of our team."

And that is exactly the kind of impact Creed wants to have. She doesn't want to be someone other have to worry about if she is going to do her job or not. And there won't be a single person who questions her passion, drive and love for the sport.

Underappreciated or not, Creed just loves the game.

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: One for all: Creed's selfless love for volleyball has Ontario Warriors on the rise