Teammates and coaches describe LSU junior Cheyenne Wood as caring, emotional and humorous, but they probably never expected her to share so much more with the public.
Student athletes’ careers are reported through various media outlets, but in the beginning of August, Wood began providing a new perspective.
Around August 8, Wood came up with the idea to create a blog to showcase her love of the team, as well as their journeys together.
“I want to make it super personal so you can get an inside look at what we do,” Wood said. “You can really see the team and who we are, get to know our personalities and my personality … I think that’s the goal of the whole blog.”
So far, the North Carolina native has shared stories about deciding to play volleyball at LSU, teammate and sophomore Katie Kampen receiving a scholarship to play this season and about the team’s effort to help families after the recent flood in Louisiana.
However, the post from Wood, that LSU coach Fran Flory said she believes will resonate the most with the public is called “Noah’s Ark.”
“On twitter people keep making jokes about “Noah’s Ark” because of the flooding,” Wood wrote. “If I had to build a boat I would definitely want every one of these fourteen girls on my crew. Since I have started this blog I have not had the opportunity to talk about them. I’d like to use a couple of words to try and explain how great they are.”
She goes on to discusses the team’s new mantra: “ALL” meaning the team is “ALL in,” and “ALL ready,” Wood scribes.
But the most personal part of Wood’s post is when she describes every one of her teammates, something that a news outlet can only hope to accurately capture as she witnesses their emotions, troubles and heartaches firsthand on a daily basis as their colleague.
“The initial [blog post] where she described everybody, it was very credible,” Flory said. “She had everybody nail on the head and I think that will lead [the public] back to it … She has great humor but a great serious, emotional side. I think it’ll be great.”
Wood said she is thankful for all her teammates and showed appreciation with a blog post detailing her teammates characteristics in the kitchen, on the court and their personal friendships in “Noah’s Ark.”
Junior middle blocker Khourtni Fears has the best skills in the kitchen.
“Holy cow, she can cook,” Wood said.
Next, to Wood, senior middle blocker Tiara Gibson owns the court.
“Do not come in her zone,” she detailed.
Finally, Wood’s roommate, sophomore Toni Rodriguez can always brighten her day by providing comedic relief and is the “best roommate” she could ever ask for, she said.
Rodriguez said the two have been roommates and best friends since freshman year.
“Fiery, fighter, intense, always can make you laugh, on the rise, impactful, the best roommate a girl could ask for,” Wood writes.
Sophomore middle blocker Olivia Beyer said she admired Wood’s posts for being both funny and accurate, and reminding her how much she loves her team.
Beyer said she decided to return the favor by commenting with what made Wood special to the team.
“Cheyenne: Dedication to the team and the game, quick and explosive, whole hearted, listens and responds, purposeful, work horse, hilarious, natural leader,” Beyer responded.

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Ari Ross

LSU sophomore Cheyenne Wood (23) prepares to serve the ball during the Tigers' 3-0 victory against Mississippi State University on Oct. 16, 2015, in the PMAC.