Sometimes things have a funny way of working out.When LSU senior setter Sam Dabbs came out of high school as the No. 22 recruit in the nation in PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces, she was set on going to Louisville.As a two-year starter, she led the Cardinals to No. 17 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association polls in 2007, but she wasn’t happy with her coach or the offense she was in, and begun to lose her confidence.”He’s a foreign coach, so it’s a different style,” Dabbs said of her former coach at Louisville, Leonid Yelin. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye. Being miserable and losing all confidence when you play is not how you want to go out.”Dale Dabbs, Sam’s father, said Sam had basically made up her mind to transfer after her first season. But she decided to stick it out for another year to see if things would improve because she liked the school and she was majoring in equine management, a major LSU doesn’t offer.But she didn’t feel like her second year improved, so the San Antonio native turned her eyes toward Baton Rouge.LSU coach Fran Flory said the program hasn’t been the same since Dabbs joined. “Things don’t always end up the way you think they will,” Flory said. “She called us and said she wasn’t happy, so she asked us to get her released … We would not be the same team without Sam Dabbs, no doubt.”It didn’t take long for Dabbs to make her mark once she got on the court donning the purple and gold.In her first match, she recorded a triple-double and didn’t stop all season en route to becoming the 2008 Louisiana Newcomer of the Year, dishing out 9.22 assists per set (No. 5 in the league) to go along with 1.91 digs per set and 1.10 kills per set.This season, Dabbs has picked up right where she left off last season. Her 11.23 assists per match (No. 2 in the SEC), 1.25 kills per match and 2.26 digs per match have helped fuel No. 15-seeded LSU toward hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. She was also recently named to the All-SEC First Team.To top it off, the senior setter won SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 12 along with becoming the first Tiger to win AVCA National Player of the Week after distributing 49 assists during a 3-0 victory over then-No. 6 Florida.”I always admire a great setter, and she is one,” said Mississippi State volleyball coach and former setter Jenny Hazelwood. “She gets the ball to her hitters in good one-on-one situations. She knows what’s happening on the other side of the net where the blockers are, and she does a great job of going the other way.”Sophomore libero Lauren Waclawczyk, one of Dabbs’ closest friends both on and off the court, wasn’t hesitant to say how important Dabbs is to the Tigers’ success this season.”She brings our character,” Waclawczyk said. “If she’s fired up, we’re fired up. She’s our quarterback, and she’s done a great job all year.”To top it all off, Dabbs may have found her future occupation in collegiate coaching thanks to the help of Flory and assistant coaches Jill Lytle Wilson and Steve Loeswick.Lytle Wilson encouraged Dabbs to apply for an AVCA scholarship given to only six people across the nation. The scholarship gives recipients the chance to attend the 2009 Final Four along with the coaching conferences and conventions.While Dabbs said she fully expects to be making a trip to Tampa, Fla., to play in the Final Four, she said she is looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about becoming a coach, especially after not being sure about her future occupation before arriving to Baton Rouge.Sometimes things just have a certain way of working out for the best.”These coaches all told me one day I … have the qualities to become a great coach,” Dabbs said. “I thought about it, and once Jill gave me this opportunity to apply and I got it, I felt like it must be meant to be.”—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]