1. MONDAY,OCTOBER 01, 2012
Volleyball’sNyquistlearnstoovercome adversity
Lyingin painonthe SwisherGymnasiumfloor,JUvolleyballoutside hitterTaylorNyquistcouldonly
thinkof one thing – herteammates.
Last seasoninthe home openeragainstPresbyterianCollege,Nyquistwashittingherstride asshe led
the Dolphinswith18 killsandsix digsinbattlingfora win.Inthe fifthset,she putthe Dolphinstwo
pointsshyof the win,13-12, witha kill.They calledhernumberagain,butshe wasblockedbythe Blue
Hose and came downwrongon herleftlegleavingherinalotof pain.
“I reallyjustthoughtaboutthe teamhonestly,”Nyquistsaidasshe recalledthatnight.“(Ithought)
abouthow longI would be outfor andwhat the injurywas.I knew somethingwaswrongandIwas
anxiousaboutit.I wasjusthopingfor somethingof the bestof it.”
The prognosiswasnot goodfor the Colleyville,Texas,nativeasshe tore heranteriorcruciate ligament
(ACL) andboth meniscusinherleftknee,forcinghertomissthe rest of the sophomore campaign.
“It was veryfrustrating,”Nyquistsaid.“Itriedtostay positive the wholetime.Itwashardto go from
startingto watchingfromthe sidelines.Mygoal isto playand to not playat all to stay onthe sidelines
was extremelyfrustrating.”
Nyquisthadeveryrighttobe frustratedasshe was becomingone of the topoffensiveplayersinher
secondseasonat JU.
Throughthe first10 gamesin2011, she was leadingthe Dolphinsinkills(117),thirdindigs(77) and
fourthinaces (5) andblocks(14). Nyquisthadfourstraightdouble-digitkill effortsleadinguptoher
injury,includingateam-best21killsand17 digsin the five-setwinvs.Clemson.
However, all of thiswouldhave towaitafterthe doctors gave hera 10-monthwindow togetback
followingthe surgery.There wasapointwhere Nyquistthoughtshe mightnotcome back.
“I knewI wouldcome back,but I didn’tknow whenorhow strong,”Nyquistsaid.“There wasa point
whenI gotreallydownandthoughtI wouldbe done.ButI keptfightingandgot supportfrommy
teammates,theydefinitelybroughtme back.”
Nyquisthada small setbackalongthe wayas the Dolphinsaddedanew coachingstaff inMichelle Collier
and Susie Jangada.Itmightbe nerve rackingto go throughan injurywitha new staff,butlittle didshe
knowthat Collierwasonherside.
“I had a verysimilarinjurymysophomore yearincollegeaswell,”Colliersaidwhowasa standout at the
Universityof SouthFlorida.“It'snice tobe able togive advice whenyouhave gone throughwhatshe
did.Whenyouhave a seasonendinginjurylike this,youspendalotof time watchingthe game from the
outside andtherefore learningalotfrom it.”
Withthe supportof her teammatesandcoaches,Nyquistwentbacktoworkwitha steadydose onthe
therapyand weightroomtoget backon the court. She was alsoable to pickup some new nuisancesof
the game while sittingforthe final half of the season.

2. “It’sdefinitelyadifferentsideof the game Inoticed,”Nyquistsaidonsittingandlearning.“Justplaying
wise andseeinghowthe girlsplayed,Idefinitelylearnedalotineveryaspectof the game.”
“She has learnedtodevelopotherareasof hergame that are helpingheroffsetthe physical aspectof
comingback froman injury,”Colliersaid.“She isbecomingmore versatile andsmartasa hitter.This
allowsfora biggerrole inthe serve receive and defense,whichmakeshermore completeplayer.”
Nyquistwasable tosee herfirstextendedactionof the seasonbyplayinginall 11 setsforJU at the
HolidayInnSelect/UCFClassicAug.31-Sept.1.She managedfourkillsand19 digsthroughthose sets.
“Rightaway,I thoughtshe playedawesomeherfirstgame back,”juniorKylie Jacobsaid.“We all
encouragedhera lotand made sure she feltcomfortable throughthe processandthather knee wasOK.
We keepcheeringheronbecause she hasbeendoingso well.We are all veryproudof her onwhat she
had done.”
Nyquistadmitsthatshe isnot quite backto 100 percentbutthe numbersshow she isgettingcloser
everyday.Inthe firstfourA-Sunmatches,she hashad a leastsevenkillsandfive digsenroute to
rankinginthe top five onthe squadin kills,acesanddigs.
“I am proud of howshe has handledthisadversityandhow hardshe isworkingto make herself andthis
program better,”Colliersaid.“She hasworkedveryhardall lastfall,springand summerandis
continuingtoworkhard to getback at the topof hergame.She will be an importantpartof our success
inconference play.”
Despite the overall setbackwiththe injury,Nyquist’soverall goalsremainthe same –tobe an All-
Americanandwina conference championship.Her2012 goalsare virtuallyinline withthe team’sgoal.
“For the team,we want to make itto the conference tournament,”Nyquistsaidongoals.“Hopefully,we
can get a (championship) ringaswell.Forme,it’sjustgettingbacktohow I wasplaying.Iam still
workingonit.I have beengettingmyvertical backup,my swingbackand gettingbetteratdefense are
some of my biggestgoals.”
Nyquistandthe Dolphinsreturntoactiontomorrow againstFloridaGulf Coastfor an A-Sunmatchat
SwisherGymnasium.Firstserveissetfor7 p.m.
FRIDAY,AUGUST 31, 2012
Volleyball’sChuniaGravesreshapesJUasa redshirt
JU volleyballredshirtfreshmanChuniaGraveshasalreadychangedthe face of campusas we knowit.
It hasn’tquite happenedonthe courtyetas she and the Dolphins(0-3) travel toOrlandoFridayforthe
HolidayInnUCF Tournament.Whatshe has changedissimplythe JU FightSong.
Last February,she wassittinginthe standsat the Jacksonville VeteransMemorial Arenaasthe Dolphins
men’sbasketball teamplayedMercer.Gravesheardthe instrumentalfightsongforthe firsttime and
lovedit.

3. She lookedupthe wordsto the song onher phone,buthadtrouble findingit.Whenshe didfound
them,theydidn’tmatchthe melodyall toowell.
Graves,whofell inlove withJUon herofficial visit,wentonamissiontolearnmore about the song.She
soughtout twogood sourcesonher journeyinJU hoopslegendArtisGilmore andVice Presidentof
UniversityRelations,Dr.DerekHall.
“I approachedDerekHall andArtisGilmore aboutit,”Graves said.“One day,I walkedintotheiroffice
and said‘Hey,howoldisour fightsong?’I wantedtoknow more about it.I wentto lookitup at
Wikipediatotryand figure it(the song) outandI didn’tlike the lyricstoomuch.”
Graveswas able to learnthatAl Rogerswrote the songback in 1971. She wantedto re-write the songto
coincide withthe newmarchingbandshe knew wascoming.Herpassionforthe school and song
showedandGilmore supportedGravesthroughthe process.
“He wasvery,veryexcited,”Gravessaid.“He wasbehindme everystepof the way.I reallyappreciated
that because Ishowedupto hisoffice inmypractice gear. I said‘Will youhelpme out,Iwant to change
the fightsong.’He saw the sense of the pride that showedinme intryingto change the university.I
wantedeveryone toknowIam proudto be a Dolphin.”
The song tookone to two daysto re-write forGraves,whoonlyoccasionallywritespoetry.After
showingitto Dr. Hall,she wasable to workwiththe new band director,ChrisCreswell.
“We wentoverputtingthe actual melodytothe lyricsincreatinga rhythm forit to flow,”Gravessaid.
“We workedtogetherformaybe 20 minutesandhe lovedthe ideaandlyrics.He was ready toput
somethingtogetherforit.He didall of the magic.
“Overall,Iwantedtomake sure I incorporatedAl Rogers’original lyricsinthe actual new fightsong
itself,”Gravessaid.“Idefinitelywantedtocreate some oldcamaraderie andbringitintoournew era. I
knewwe have a newmarchingbandcomingand it wasa greattime to start overagainso here we go.”
Gravesand Creswell laterplayedthe new versionforthe Boardof Trusteeswhounanimouslyapproved
the song forofficial use.
Fans can see belowhowGraveskeptthe toppart of the lyricsinbothFightSongs.The new versionhasa
couple of newlyricsforthe last half.Italsohas a fastestandmore upbeatspeedtothe songwhich
performedbythe marchingbandinthe videotothe right.
JU FightSong – Original
Fighton forJacksonville
Setyour sightsuponthe highestgoal.
Cheer,cheerforJacksonville,
As ourDolphinteambeginstoroll.
FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!
Yell forthe greenand gold,

4. Raise yourbannershighand give a roar
We will meetthem&we will defeatthem
As we run upthe winningscore.
JU FightSong - New
Fighton forJacksonville,
Setyour sightsupon the highestgoal!
Cheer!cheer!forJacksonville,forthe
Dolphinswe standbrave andbold!
FIGHT! FIGHT! for greenandgold
For the gloryof the newand old;
For the Dolphinswe will roar,
'Cause the Dolphinswe adore,we will forevermore
Let’sGo Fins!
“One of myoriginal ideaswastokeepsome of it the same,”Gravessaid.“I didn’twantto disrespectAl
Rogersor anyone whowas still singingandproudthe original fightsong.The hardpart was to create the
rhythmor flow.”
“Chunia’senthusiasmforJU isinfectious,”Hall said.“She showedupinmyoffice one daywithnotonly
the ideaof revivingthe FightSong,butalsoinputonwayswe couldbetterpromote the Universitytoher
peers.She hasgreat insightanda willingnesstoputherideasonthe table.JUis definitelyluckytohave
heras a studentnowandan alumin a few shortyears.”
Like the songwritingforthe firsttime,Gravesredshirtingonthe volleyball courtlastseasonwasa new
to her.
“Mentallyandphysically,redshirtingwasanoverall learningexperience,”Gravessaid.“Igot towatch
my teammateslearnandperform.Ireallygottoget acclimated.Now,Iam here againas a freshman,
but I am here tohelpthe newfreshman.Iwantto tell themwhatI know.”
The newfightsongwentthrougha change muchlike the volleyball teamwhowelcomedinanew staff
inMichelle Collier,Susie JangadaandKyle Cronkforthe 2012 season.Gravesbelievesthisoverall
change will serve the teamwell inthe longrun.

5. “The newcoachingstaff isa stepforwardand we all are reallylookingforwardtothe season,”Graves
said.“I believeasa teamit isa change we all had to gothrough.We all tooka steptogether,itwasa
huge one,butwe are readyfor the outcome.”
Much like herwillingnesstomake JU strongerthroughsong,Gravesis lookingtomake the Dolphins
betteronthe court.
“I am alwaysthinkingaboutwhatIcan doto get bettersothat is definitelyone of mymaingoals,”
Gravessaid.“For the team,we have little goalsthatwe have preparedtogetus to one greatthing.We
are inhere workingdayinand day out.All of us or none of us, it’slike that.”
“Chuniaisalwaystryingto finda wayto give back to the University,”Colliersaid.“She lovesbeinga
student-athletehere atJU and alwayssaysthatthere is nobetterplace to be.
“I admire herpassionformakingthisschool betterandwhat she didforthe fightsongisjustone more
wayof herthinkingaboutcreatingstrongertraditionsforthe University.We are proudof the greatjob
she did,and I can’twait to hearour newfightsongduringour sportingevents!”
On Sept.15, fans will gettofeel the full effectonGravescontributionwhenthe footballteamhitshome
fieldandthe bandplays the fightsongfor the firsttime.Gravesmaynot get rememberedlikethe
original writer,Al Rogers,butshe wantsyoutobe proudof JU.
“I want JU to take a sense of pride outof it like Idid,”Gravessaid.“Assoon as I got here,Iwas happyto
screamor shoutsomethingbecauseIwasproudto be a Dolphin.Iwantthe school to feel thatsense of
pride too.I don’twalkaroundand justsay I go to Jacksonville University.Iwantbetterthingsforthe
Universityitself.ThatiswhatI am lookingfor.”
The JU volleyball teamplaysLiberty(11a.m.) and UCF (8 p.m.) on the firstdayof tourney.The Dolphins
finishwithColumbiaSaturdayat4 p.m. Fanscan follow the actionthroughthe live linkson
JUDolphins.com.