By Adam Greene, for Carson-Newman Athletics 

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In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene's violent path through the Southeastern United States, the Carson-Newman Volleyball team faced a schedule change, but that did not mean that the Eagles weren't going to work. 

 

With their game scheduled at Mars Hill University postponed, C-N coach Cat Collins called her team captains together to check on her squad, so many from affected areas in Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. 

 

What came from that meeting was a desire to use their time between games to serve the community, especially those in the surrounding areas hit hardest by the storm.

 

"I talked to our captains and we were talking about how blessed we were (to come through the storm)," Collins said. "And that's when Cameron (Batis) asked if there was anything we can do to help."

 

At Carson-Newman, the answer to that question is always, "yes."

 

So, Collins reached out to local ministries, professors at Carson-Newman and found opportunities for her team to assist the community, It didn't take much convincing to get the entire squad on board.

 

"It was incredible to see the whole community come together through a tragedy," senior libero McKenna Hall said. "Coach Cat presented it to us as a volunteer opportunity and pretty much the whole team showed up. We ended up cancelling practice for a couple of days so we could help, Whether it was gutting a house or passing out food and clothes to those who needed it, it showed how we're all on board."

 

Through her contacts, Collins set up her Eagle team with Empower Cocke County and the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief organizations. And for two days, the team went to work. 

For sophomore setter Madilyn Pardue, it was another way to give thanks for her own family and community in Kernersville, N.C. being mostly spared from the worst of the damage from Helene. It was a blessing that, thankfully, most of the team from the southeast could also appreciate.

 

"All of us personally were fine," Pardue said. "I don't think we had too much damage (to our homes). I know a couple of the girls from South Carolina had some trees falling in the back of their house, but nothing too bad like what happened to other people."

 

The strength and path of the storm, however, was something that none in this area had ever dealt with before. No one was ready when it hit.

 

"We had a lot of friends and family that were near that were affected by it," Pardue said. "It was scary. The night it happened my dad was calling me to put on The Weather Channel. Some volleyball girls and I were watching what was happening in Florida and that it was projected to go right through my home state and the state I'm currently living in. You didn't have any time to prepare for it."

 

When the storm cleared, the true nature of the devastation was revealed. For the people of Appalachia, especially Jefferson, Cocke and Hamblen County, it's tough to ask for help, even when needed. It was something that presented a challenge for the team when working with Empower Cocke County. They had donations and supplies that people needed. Convincing East Tennesseans to take that help was a whole different challenge. 

 

"It was sad because you can tell that a lot of them have never had to ask for help before," Pardue said. "It was like they were ashamed to be there and asking. A lot of people around here have a lot of pride and that makes it hard to reach out for help. Something like this, a natural disaster, you can't control it. They were like, we don't want to take too much stuff. But we told them, this is for you. Everyone deserves some help. It was sad."

 

Hall, along with Batis and Kylee Oldenberger, came up with a strategy to get the products in the public's hands. Instead of offering individual soaps and other hygiene items, they put them all into gallon bags so that everyone coming through, hundreds throughout the day, would leave with what they needed. 

 

"It made it easier for them to accept it if it wasn't a million things coming at them at once," Hall said. "It was just a gallon bag. It was eye-opening. Just being in the facility and seeing the line of people needing clothes or food."

 

One young mother who needed baby clothes stuck out in Collins memory. 

 

"There was a lady I was helping find baby clothes and she started crying," Collins said. "She said, 'I don't need this much.' And I told her it was OK. That's what it's here for. She thought she couldn't take that much because other people lost more than her. And it was clothes for a week. She was going to need more than that. They are so self-sufficient, there were some situations it felt like you were forcing your help on them. It was like, please let us help you. You need it."

 

While the day helping hundreds of hurricane victims at Empower Cocke County was exhausting, it was nothing compared to the next day, in association with Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief, the team donned hazmat suits, protective masks and gloves, grabbed shovels and tools and went to work assisting a family remove their belongings from a devastated home in Hamblen County. 

 

It was backbreaking and dangerous work, but according to Hall, the team did not hesitate to get to it once arriving at the farmhouse.

 

"The home address was in Morristown, just 20 minutes from Carson-Newman," Hall said. "Seeing the house and the devastation and knowing that the family and many other families had lost everything. It was destroyed and had sat like that for about a week. Honestly, volleyball has a stereotype of us all being 'girly girls' playing the sport. As soon as we saw that house, everyone was in their boots. Everyone put on their gloves and we were ready to get dirty and help that family out."

For Collins, seeing the ruins of that home and realizing there were so many more, not just in Tennessee, but all throughout the Southeastern United States, put the gravity of the storm into perspective.

 

"We knew it was going to be hard work, but I had no idea how bad that area was hit," Collins said. "I talked to one of the grandsons who lived there and he showed me pictures of their house (when it flooded) and the water was up to their roof. You could see the water line on the house. It was emotional because he was at the house with us the whole day. He was watching us basically throw away everything that he owned."

 

The team worked in shifts, a morning and afternoon crew but many girls contacted their professors to be excused from class to continue helping. There was so much work to do and it was difficult to leave before it was finished.

 

"They needed people," Pardue said. "The only reason that house got stripped out was us. The morning crew got the living room and the kitchen. Everything had to be removed from the fridge to the silverware, everything was ruined. We ended up doing the back rooms and we're finding social security cards, IDs, guitars that are signed that are ruined. This was someone's life. At the end, we had to strip out all the carpet, shoveling and squeegeeing out the water so they could start to rebuild somewhere."

 

That rebuilding process will take time, but Collins, in the work they put together, how quickly her team responded and the good they did, was something she could appreciate immediately.

 

"It brought up so many faith conversations and reminded us of who we are as a program and why we wanted to play volleyball at Carson-Newman," Collins said. "This group does such a great job at keeping God at the center of everything. There are quite q few of our girls who wanted to grow in their faith by sharing their faith and they used these opportunities to do that. It was heavy.

 

"I had so many girls text me that they emailed their professors so they could come and be servants. So many of them would stay later and their professors would allow them to stay and do what they were doing. It's great to be a part of a school that recognizes the importance of that. It was hard work, but everyone understood why we were doing it. With the family being there, it was an opportunity to help them and comfort them too."

 

For a team that was already tight, Hall feels the work and opportunity to help the community just further solidified their bond.

 

"It brought us a lot closer together," Hall said. "Going through these life experiences that aren't just sports related. I feel way more bonded with every single member of my team and the coaching staff. And it's good to know there are more opportunities for us to help out our community like this." 

 

Collins agreed with her fifth-year senior leader.

 

"It allowed us to be vulnerable with each other and created a better dynamic," Collins said. "Now no one is afraid to ask for help or ask someone to be there for them. It allowed us to serve each other in a valuable way. This team is so close and it's because they've been through so much together. We can be a true community within ourselves. We can be more than just a volleyball team."

 

For more information on Empower Cocke County go to empowercockecounty.com. To learn more about Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief, visit tndisasterrelief.org.