Carrollton, GA – It can be difficult growing up in a family where your siblings are all exceptional athletes. The pressure to succeed in athletics can be enormous and tough to bear. But for West Georgia middle blocker
Lisa Ogide, that pressure is just something she takes in stride.
The UWG volleyball senior comes from a family where her older sister played basketball at the University of Cincinnati, her older brother plays basketball at Colorado State University, and her younger sister plays volleyball at Rinehart College.
Born April 13, 1989, Ogide was a tremendous student-athlete, exuding excellence both in the classroom as well as on the basketball court in her youth. But as her career was coming to a close at Paulding County High School in Dallas, GA, she stepped onto a different type of hardcourt.
“Basketball was always my first love that ran deep in my blood; in high school my coach approached my sister and I one day and told us that we should play volleyball,” said Ogide. “At that time I knew nothing about volleyball, and the coach agreed that he would teach us as we go. The first thing I learned was to jump and swing, and the jumping came naturally but the swing came a little later.”
Ogide started her collegiate career at Southern Union, where she excelled at both basketball and volleyball. Overwhelmed by the amount of pressure and stress that came with being a two-sport athlete, Ogide put down the basketball and began focusing on volleyball.
“Basketball was always my first love. Both my sister and brother played in college, and I just decided to take another route,” said Ogide. “Going back and forth from basketball practice then to volleyball practice begin to take a toll on my body.”
At Southern Union, Ogide put up some impressive numbers for someone who was a relative novice to the game of volleyball.
In two years, Ogide totaled 511 kills in 1173 total attacks, with just 115 errors. She had a hitting percentage of .338 and was a wall at the net with 141 total blocks, including 73 solo and 68 block assists. In her sophomore season alone she had 392 kills at a torrid .403 clip. She also received the Most Improved Player award in 2008 and became an All-Region player. Ogide was also named to All-Tournament teams at the Lawson Cougar Classic and the Patriot Classic.
After deciding that she wanted to continue her volleyball career, Ogide put together a highlight tape and uploaded it onto YouTube. The highlight tape caught the eye of head coach Gary Lee and his West Georgia coaching staff.
“Coach Lee liked what he saw, and he noticed that I didn’t have all the skills that other volleyball players had but he knew two things by viewing my video,” states Ogide. “He saw that I could jump, and I was very athletic.”
Ogide stepped onto the floor of the Coliseum last fall for the first time and slowly became an impact player. By mid-season, that athleticism was in full effect, as Ogide was able to get kills from high over any opponent’s attempted block, which translated into a team-leading .309 hitting percentage for the year last season. The combination of Ogide and West Georgia worked as smoothly as when she first stepped onto campus for a recruiting visit.
“When I first visited this University, I felt at home from the time I stepped out of the car,” states Ogide. “I wanted to play in the Coliseum and see my picture up on the video board, but most importantly, I was excited about the opportunity to teach.”
With one of the strongest teacher education programs in the state of Georgia, that combo package of Ogide and the University of West Georgia has a great shot to have an impact on the future, but this time it will be off the court.
“I have a strong passion for kids,” states Ogide. “I would like to teach in the south, but really I just want to make a difference in the kids’ lives, just like my fourth grade teacher did for me.”
Last season came with both ups and downs, as the Wolves went 10-20 with a young team, but Ogide is determined to put all of that behind her as she plans on taking her game to the next level for her senior season.
“I am somewhat of a quiet leader on the court, but I do know that if you set me I will get a kill,” states Ogide. “I just want to be that role player on the team that my teammates look to when it’s time for a big play to be made.”
At the end of the day Ogide just wants to make her family proud by continuing to do the right things on and off the court.
“I just want to lead by example for my younger sister,” states Ogide. “I want her to look up to me like I looked up to my older sister.”
With an outstanding incoming class and a team with a year of experience under their collective belts, Ogide and the 2010 West Georgia Wolves have a chance to be a winning combination. The journey begins on August 6 with reporting day, with the season opener set for September 3 in Saint Leo, FL.