Sydney Joseph earns Female Freshman of the Year at Alcorn State University

Published 12:16 am Saturday, May 11, 2019

ALCORN, MISS. — Sydney Joseph of LaPlace looks forward to three more years of making headlines and setting records on the volleyball court for Alcorn State University.

The 2018 Riverside Academy graduate just completed her freshman year of college as her university’s 2019 Female Freshman of the Year.

The prestigious award was fueled by her performance at outside hitter, where she led the volleyball team with 244 kills and ranked seventh in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Joseph started from the get-go as her team earned wins against grueling competition in Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Grambling State, Southern, Texas Southern, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State, all while overcoming an injury that saw her wheeled away in a stretcher during an October game.

“With the right coach, the right teammates, I feel like I was on top,” Joseph said. “I may be young, and I may not be a vocal leader, but I think I lead by example. I wasn’t expecting the award, but, looking back, I feel it was well deserved.”

Coach Chelsey Lucas recruited Joseph after surprising her at a club volleyball tournament in Atlanta.

The duo first met at Riverside Academy, where Lucas formerly coached track and field and volleyball.

Joseph was an avid softball player who also ran track. It wasn’t until her freshman year of high school that she started learning the game of volleyball.

“I convinced her to play volleyball because I saw the passion that she has for being great at everything she does, and she’s very athletic,” Lucas said.

Before long, Joseph was leading her team in kills. By the end of high school, she had four all district designations, two all state titles and a River Parishes MVP award.

According to Lucas, Joseph stands apart in her dependability and ability to score when it’s crunch time.

“She understood what it takes to be a D1 player,” Lucas said. “Sydney came on knowing her responsibilities. Sydney knew as a freshman that she wanted to start, and she wanted to keep her starting position.”

Danriel Joseph and Tammy Cox were immensely proud of the sacrifices their daughter had to make to excel as a multi-sport athlete in high school.

According to Cox, colliding softball and club volleyball schedules meant Joseph would often be reprimanded for missing practice to attend a tournament. Regardless, she grew mentally stronger in the long run.

“I’m most proud of her drive and her strength through adversity,” Cox said. “I’m proud of her love of volleyball and her love to achieve. She had to make difficult decisions when she decided to choose volleyball in her collegiate years.”

Moving to a rural town was an adjustment, Joseph said, though she’s thankful it forced her to come out of her shell and form closer bonds with those around her.

Joseph is studying sports medicine at Alcorn with a goal to stay connected to the sports world as a physical therapist.

With new volleyball coach Melissa Robinson coming in for Joseph’s sophomore season, Joseph wants to form a positive impression.

“My goal is to prove to her that this is who I am,” Joseph said. “I can keep doing this every year. She can trust me. She can believe in me.”