Volleyball player showcased
USU volleyball’s junior libero Laurel Bodily helped the Aggies win the Western Athletic Conference tournament over No. 3 Hawaii in straight sets in 2010. She finished second on the team last season with 287 digs and fifth overall with 22 service aces, while earning academic all-WAC honors as the Aggies posted a 27-9 record and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Idaho native has played volleyball since fifth grade and brought her Idaho Falls High School team to the state championship game twice. Bodily currently majors in communication disorders and deaf education: speech pathology at USU.
Utah Statesman: When you were a kid what did you want to be?
Laurel Bodily: I always wanted to be a doctor.
US: Are you a True Aggie?
LB: I am not, so for all the boys out there: you go to Utah State, you’ve got to be a True Aggie.
US: What is your favorite flavor of Aggie Ice Cream?
LB: Chocolate toffee crunch.
US: What is your favorite memory, so far, of a game?
LB: Probably, the WAC tournament conference championship. That’s always fun, it will stick with you for the rest of your life.
US: Was there any specific aspect or part of the game that made it special for you?
LB: It was a feeling, really, coming in as the underdog, nobody expected us to win and then coming in and kind of killing it. So you get a good feeling about it.
US: What is your favorite part of campus?
LB: Around the TSC; it has lots of people. I like to people watch.
US: What is your favorite statue on campus?
LB: The french fry one; it’s always fun.
US: What word describes you best, and why?
LB: Competitive. I am probably one of the most competitive people you will meet in your life. Just in everything I do — board games, cards — just very, very competitive.
US: What drives you everyday?
LB: I would say self-accomplishment, wanting to gain something out of every day — to gain life lessons.
US: If you were invisible, where would you go?
LB: A close friend’s house or someone I like, spy on them a little, I don’t know.
US: What is the most played song on your iPod?
LB: This is kind of embarrassing but probably a song from “Tangled,” “I See the Light.” I kind of love that movie.
US: If you could choose anyone to be your mentor who would you pick?
LB: Honestly, I would probably say my dad, just from everything that he has gone through. He swam in college, and so he kind of has similar experience to what I am going through.
US: If you had to work on only one project for the next year what would it be?
LB: Any sort of clay sculpture — I like to make a lot of things out of clay, so I would put a lot of time into one thing and just make it as good as a can.
US: What songs are included on the soundtrack of your life?
LB: Anything from Rascal Flats.
US: If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
LB: There is a color named cerulean, it’s a blue.
US: What is your favorite sport other than volleyball?
LB: Basketball — got to be basketball.
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