Despite recording 229 kills in her first year on the Palouse and being named to the All-WCC Freshman Team, now-sophomore outside hitter Eliana Ti’a could not believe she won the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award.

“When I got called up [to the stage], and I won the award…I didn’t even believe it,” she said.

Her teammates were not as shocked. Middle blocker Lauren Johnson, who is also Ti’a’s roommate, said she thought the Meridian, Idaho, native had about a 95-to-97-percent chance of winning the award. 

“When she was given the award, I was already recording her reaction,” Johnson said.

Heading into the season, Ti’a said she had “no idea” she would play. Even when she played, she struggled with her confidence.

“I wasn’t confident all season long,” she said. “I went through…a little mental block and I feel like when I went through that mental block, it helped me realize…what [I was] missing, which was that confidence.”

She said it was during the team’s Crimson and Gray Scrimmage over the summer, when she realized she needed to build her confidence. During the Utah Classic preseason tournament, she started to hit her stride.

“It was a big adjustment, but [playing six rotations in the Utah Classic is] definitely what helped me, because if I’m seeing that Korey’s trusting to put me in, I just have to have that confidence,” she said. “And playing such high-level teams, it really helped me…know what I was able to do against tougher…opponents.”

Ti’a recorded 29 kills and six total blocks during the tournament. It was during the Cougars’ match against Utah in that tournament, when Ti’a spiked a ball that landed at the 15-foot line, that Johnson knew Ti’a would be a contributor.

“Just [her going] up and [taking] big swings and not really [being] scared of getting blocked,” Johnson said, “I knew that she was going to be a good component, a good competitor, and…just hold the rest of the team to a high standard.”

However, the preseason was only the beginning of her becoming more comfortable.

“She started to settle in as the season went on and got more comfortable, and I think accepted, like, ‘yeah, I’m a pretty dang good player… I’m going to go out and own that and play with confidence,’” head coach Korey Schroeder said.

She finished the season with the third-most kills and total blocks on WSU. She also played in every match and in 98 out of 100 sets. This was the foundation for her Female Freshman of the Year Award campaign. 

One of the main reasons Ti’a won the award, according to Johnson, was because of her connections.

“She has friends, as far as I’m concerned, on at least every team here, or at least people know her name,” Johnson said.

WSU athletes get to vote in the Cougar Sports Awards. They are sent a form and choose who they think should win each award. Johnson said those connections helped Ti’a.

Ti’a also put in the necessary work. On non-match days, she had either two or three classes and four hours dedicated to volleyball. That four-hour period, from roughly 2 to 6 p.m., included treatment, rehabilitation, a two-hour practice, a lift and recovery.

After volleyball, she would eat dinner and do homework. She did not often go to bed until midnight most nights.

This grind put a weight on Ti’a, which is why she leaned on her faith for support. She said God was her number one source of strength.

“I’m really strong with my faith, so I really leaned on God a lot throughout this whole semester and this whole season,” she said. “Whenever I was struggling, I’d always just turn towards my faith and really rely on that.”

She also credited her father, teammates and academic advisor, Dyan Bledsoe, for being there for her and thus helping her win the award.

She said her father understands what it means to be a student-athlete as he played football at Boise State, her teammates have always been there to support her and that Bledsoe is “the main reason” she is passing all of her classes.

For Johnson, Ti’a’s accolade showed how hard a worker she is.

“She doesn’t really think that she’s as good as she is,” Johnson said. “So when she got the award, I was kind of hoping that it would give her a little bit more confidence or maybe open her eyes to how good of a player she really is because she’s not one to…brag about herself or talk about…her achievements.”

Ti’a has multiple pieces of advice for incoming college athletes, but her biggest one is to stay hungry. 

“My biggest advice would [be] to…never be satisfied… Always push yourself, because when you get relaxed… you just stay relaxed, and you just don’t think you can do more. But, always do more, always push yourself,” she said.