What It Means To Be A National Champion From A Former Collegiate Athlete

A dream that only a select few are ever able to achieve in their lifetime has now become a reality for Hart High Alum Shelby Grubbs.

Shelby Grubbs will forever be immortalized in the NCAA record books after she led the Cal State LA Golden Eagles women’s volleyball team on a Cinderella run this past season.

What became a historic championship run for the Golden Eagles started off far from perfect and even left the team feeling lost early in the year due to some unforeseen struggles.

“We started the season really rocky and not able to find our footing after having almost the same team that made it to the final four the year prior,” said Grubbs in a phone interview with KHTS. “Our team had only ever finished better than the year before, so we knew there was pressure to start performing in the NCAA tournament.”

Grubbs, who was not only a starter for Cal State LA but also team captain, snapped her right pinky finger in half when attempting to go for a block. To add salt to the wound, the doctors told her she would be out for ten weeks and the tournament was starting in five.

“Being injured for most of the year really affected me,” said Grubbs. “Not being able to be on the court with my team for my last year was hard to deal with when I cared for them so much.”

With the clock ticking on her last dance, the middle blocker would have to decide on either playing through injury and risk making it worse or contributing in any way she could from the sidelines.

A surprise to no one, the former Hart Indian was willing to put her body on the line for the greater good of her teammates and coaches. “I knew I just had to risk refracturing it because I was running out of time,” said Grubbs. “Being able to show up for my team and provide that support was all I cared about. I spent five years with this team and I wasn’t going to waste my last year for a broken finger.”

It’s no secret why Grubbs was named team captain. She continuously displayed a phenomenal work ethic and selflessness both on and off the court.

Grubbs is also a very decorated academic scholar achieving numerous awards for her accomplishments throughout her collegiate career. An elite athlete is only as strong as the dedication and passion they have behind closed doors.

With the tournament approaching and Grubbs electing to return from injury, the Golden Eagles were in for a tough stretch of opponents if they wanted to go all the way.

Being unranked heading into the competition, Cal State LA was both severely underrated and overlooked after a less-than-great regular season.

“Once we made it to the regional tournament, it was like someone turned on a lightning rod,” said Grubbs. “We truly have never played better volleyball than that stretch of six games straight, somehow able to outdo ourselves each game.”

Beating six ranked teams in a row is no easy task, even if your team is ranked as well. The Golden Eagles didn’t care about what the outside world was saying about them, all that mattered were the 20 voices in the locker room and handling business on the court no matter who they were matched up against.

After ripping off five straight wins, the ladies found themselves in the title game as they prepared to face the West Texas A&M Buffaloes, who were looking to win back-to-back.

“Once we made it to the finals against the defending National Champions is once it started to hit us that we could actually take the whole thing,” said Grubbs. We actually started the day very emotional just about being in the finals and shed some tears in the locker room before the game.”

Very few athletes ever make it to a championship game and even fewer are able to call themselves one. It takes a special kind of grit and determination to perform in one of the biggest stages of your life but Grubbs and her team were ready for the bright lights.

“Once the first ball was served in that final, we knew it was ours for the taking,” said Grubbs. “We were such a unit on the court and that stemmed from the understanding that we were going to make history.”

The Golden Eagles had never won a national championship in volleyball since the NCAA era started in 1982 and no team has ever won it all after being unranked heading into the postseason. Being able to take this one home would solidify this team as one of the better squads of all time.

“Before the last ball was hit out of bounds, I was already crying on the court. After it landed, we all just collapsed in a heap of tears and smiles, knowing we truly gave everything we could for each other,” said Grubbs.

With the Cinderella run complete and a ring secured in her final season, it was a bittersweet moment for the captain, knowing her playing career was coming to an end after an all-time high.

“I’m more emotional about missing the time with my best friends than about volleyball ending,” said the Newhall native. “This team was full of people I was so excited to see every day and I miss that more than anything.”

One of the greatest parts about sports is the friendships and connections you make along the way and those can be harder to say goodbye to than the sport itself.

“My favorite memories include dancing in the locker rooms before games and celebrating after big wins…and the sheer joy of accomplishing things that had never been done before,” said Grubbs. “When else can I say I made history with my 20 best friends?”

The now Cal State LA alumni is continuing her volleyball journey in a new way by giving back to youth in the art of coaching for both the high school level and club teams. As well as putting her master’s degree to work as a college advisor.

Grubbs was able to go on one last trip with her teammates as they were honored at the White House for NCAA Sports Day this past Monday. She was also selected by her peers to represent them on stage with over 40 student-athletes.

“To have events where NCAA teams are recognized on a national level is such an honor and a true testament of the hard work that goes into being a National Champion,” said Grubbs. “I almost teared up knowing I was going to go on stage.”

The Golden Eagles also had a full-circle moment as a team after being doubted the entire season. “Our team struggled being respected this year, being unranked most of the season, so being invited to the White House was a great clap back to the people who didn’t think we could do it.”

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