Junior middle blocker Tiara Gibson didn’t miss a set in her two seasons at South Dakota State University, but she didn’t find happiness until she put on a Tiger uniform this spring.
SDSU was the clear choice for the Clear Lake, South Dakota, native coming out of high school. Growing up on a farm, Gibson said she was scared of change and wanted to stay close to home when the recruiting process came to an end.
“I wasn’t a stand-out player in high school,” Gibson said. “I knew how good I could be, but I never had the chance to really show it, so I settled for mid-major Division I schools.”
She declined walk-on offers to be a priority, but her choice came with a cost.
South Dakota’s under-established volleyball circuit reflected SDSU’s record in Gibson’s two seasons. As a freshman, she led the team to an unsatisfying 5-22 record. The team’s record the following season was 6-27, which pulled the transferring-trigger during her sophomore year.
“It was really sad because I saw something I had dreamt of crumbling down on me,” Gibson said. “I have always been a South Dakota State fan, and I just thought we were going [to] kill it, be the team in the Dakotas and that one mid-major team big schools had to watch out for. That’s what I was told in high school, and when that didn’t become a reality, I felt lost.”
Hoping for a change in momentum and a chance to break through, Gibson waited to transfer until after the fall semester of her sophomore year. She said she wanted to leave knowing she did everything she could for the program, coaches and players, so there would never be a “what if” to look back on. In the middle of her sophomore year, she knew it was time to move on.
“There would be times where I would not want to go back in the game,” Gibson said. “I would rotate out and feel so hopeless about the situation that I don’t want to go back in. I’ve never had that feeling before, and it scared me. Volleyball is what I love, and I didn’t want to do it anymore. I was ready to become a normal student because I was just so done with it.”
The team was anything but shocked when Gibson’s name hit the rumor mill. Her .205 hitting percentage, 96 blocks and team-leading 236 kills her sophomore season received the attention of many Division I schools. In the end, it came down to LSU and the University of California, Long Beach.
Knowing she gave up the dream of being a top athlete and going big while staying in-state, she flew into New Orleans for her official visit.
LSU coach Fran Flory said the team was looking for athletic middle blockers with an opportunity to grow, and Gibson fit.
“The fact that Fran and [assistant coach] Jill [Lytle Wilson] both came an hour away to pick me up from the airport at 3 a.m. said a lot about how interested they were in me,” Gibson said. “I had so much fun, the campus was beautiful and the program is quite storied. Everybody had nothing but good things to say about the coaches and players here.”
By that time, she knew the ins and outs of recruiting. To see the players’ true personality, she played a round of deep court with senior outside hitter Cati Leak, freshman middle blocker Toni Rodriguez and former senior defensive specialist Laura Whalen.
“I didn’t feel happy at SDSU, so that was everything I ultimately wanted to be,” Gibson said. “I didn’t care if I played. I just wanted to be happy and have some good friends. Volleyball is supposed to be a sisterhood and a family, and I just genuinely felt that here.”
She committed to LSU on Aug. 7, a week before school started.
Thrown into spring practice, sand volleyball and difficult classes, the farm girl didn’t have time to feel homesick, she said. She quickly adapted to the southern accents and culture and kept growing.
Gibson said she was pleased with everything in her new environment from the first day. She would come to the weight room in the morning, excited and ready to go just because of the opportunity that was lying in her hands. She said she didn’t want to waste a single second.
“I told my parents, I am willing to never step on the floor again in order to be a part of a winning team and be happy,” she said. “I was so unhappy being the star of a team that wasn’t winning that I had to realize what my priorities are. People say winning isn’t everything, but it’s got to be something.”
As a Tiger, Gibson grew used to playing in key situations after rarely receiving a breather at SDSU.
“[Tiara] is a strong, physical force on the court,” said senior middle blocker Emily Ehrle. “She has really stepped up with coming in the middle of games and being effective. To have somebody come off the bench and be as effective as she has been is crucial for a team. She has definitely been a very positive addition and is a great person on the court and an even better person off the court.”
The team’s tough start of the season worried Gibson. Coming from a team with constant losing records, she questioned if LSU was the right choice after all, but the Arkansas game was the turning point of the shaken up expectations.
“Playing Arkansas and almost beating them in five with a great crowd made it my favorite game so far,” Gibson said. “Tensions were high. Their coach was yelling at their girls. Fran was trying to calm us down. The refs were making calls that were whatever they wanted, and the crowd was getting into it. I love the rivalries.”
Her braided hair shaped Gibson’s season at LSU and became her main pre-game ritual. She said if her hair looks strong, she feels strong, but the team’s pre-game dance party remains her favorite.
“The dance party is another reason I knew LSU was my place because at my old school, I was the DJ. I was the one trying to get the dance party going, but no one was really on the same page with me,” Gibson said. “When I came here, saw the videos of the dance party, I was like, ‘That is exactly what I’ve been trying to do.’ We’ve been hitting the Quan a lot lately.”