Hamilton, ON- Olivia Bell felt the emotions of the moment as she walked off the Burridge Gym court. The fifth-year senior had just finished her university volleyball career at nationals in Hamilton.
She did so with her Saint Mary’s Huskies team she’s been with since 2018. With her best friend Megan Bruhm by her side – who she’s been with for years before that. The two outside hitters have enjoyed their experience of being at their first and last nationals.
Bell found Bruhm and hugged her after the Huskies lost to the host McMaster Marauders in the fifth place match. The two of them walked off the court together – arm-in-arm – for the final time.
That moment marked the end of the journey for the two Saint Mary’s seniors. The journey itself?
One of growth and realization. One of hard work and accolades. One of tightness and friendship. One not possible without each other.
Their friendship goes all the way back to their club careers. Bell and Bruhm were both playing for the Tigers volleyball club. They spent time on the same team and started to get to know each other.
Bell had just finished her first season at Saint Mary’s when Bruhm joined in 2019. Then their bond really strengthened.
They started carpooling together to practices. By Bruhm’s third year, they were living together. With each passing year, their friendship got tighter and tighter and tighter…
Those times when Bruhm thought it couldn’t get any tighter? She was wrong.
The two of them meshed with different personalities. Bruhm was the bubbly and funny one. The one always ready with a joke to make others laugh. The one always finding the positives in everything. Bell was the quiet one who kept to herself.
Before the game, they’re pepper partners. During the game, teammate Madison Hann sees them always looking out for each other. Always holding each other accountable.
Hann sees their faces light up when they see each other get an ace or kill . “A different light,” she called it.
Together, they balance each other out when they’re feeling down or too high. “Liv,” Bruhm would tell her. “You’re good. Breathe.”
Bruhm found it so nice to have Bell by her side all those years. To have someone who’s been through those ups and downs. Someone who knows her so well.
Bruhm and Bell have become who they are because of each other. When Bruhm joined the Huskies, she learned from her older teammates – the leaders on the team.
Soon she started to become a leader herself. She knew how she always liked to joke and keep things light. How she didn’t take things as seriously. However, she also wanted to have a seriousness as well.
When Bruhm became one of the team’s captains in 2022, she was hesitant to speak up at first. Maybe they’re going to judge me, she thought. Maybe I’m going to say the wrong thing. What if they don’t respect me?
As she talked with her teammates more and more, she learned when to say the right things. She learned the right things to say as well.
As she talked with them more and more, she understood them more and more. She understood what they need – which might mean something different than what she usually brings.
Bruhm’s full of energy. She and Bell love screaming in each other’s faces. However, she also knew that Hann is calm and collected. So, she chose a different approach.
An approach that brings a smile to Hann’s face. She lights up Hann’s day. Hann trusts her. She knows she has her back.
As Bruhm became a leader, she also stepped up on the court. Bell would notice her shying away in her earlier years.
“Meg. You’re one of the best hitters in the nation,” Bell would tell her. “You rise to the big moments. You are the big moment. Own it.”
Upon hearing those words, Bruhm would hit a big shot. “That’s what you can do every single time,” Bell told her.
Bell sees her best friend making the big digs and kills. She sees her become an AUS All-Star in her senior season. She sees her doing so with the same level-headedness and bubbly personality through all the highs and lows. “That’s huge,” Bell said.
Bell has always been a competitive person. Bruhn knows how hard she works. How she’ll go for those hard shots in the closest moments of a game.
Hann sees her goofy side when she jokes around with teammates on bus rides. However, once Bell steps on the court…it’s all business.
However, being around Bruhm, that started to change for Bell. Yes, she knows how competitive she is and how badly she wants to win. But after seeing how Bruhm carries herself, Bell realized she needed to keep her emotions in check and play calmer and freer. She learned to trust her muscle memory.
Bruhm will lock eyes with her and crack a joke – doing anything to make her best friend smile. She’ll reassure her.
The two of them will hold their hands a little longer. Bruhm will always tell her positive things. “Liv, you’re good,” she’ll tell her. Bell will return the reassurances.
When Bell first heard the news, she didn’t think she could play volleyball anymore.
She was diagnosed with a terminal auto-immune disease back in 2021. She got really really sick. She couldn’t practice, lift weights or play volleyball. My volleyball career is done, she thought. I’m never going to be able to play again.
After working with doctors and health specialists, she was able to manage it and return to playing. When she stepped back onto the court, she did so with a different perspective. I can’t take anything for granted, she thought. I have to live in the moment. I have to appreciate the moment.
Everything is bigger than myself, she realized. When she would see a teammate seemingly not giving as much effort in practice, she knew to treat them with kindness and respect. There’s stuff behind the scenes that I don’t know about, she thought. She knew she needed to be there for them – like they were for her. That became the turning point.
When she was younger, Bell found herself playing for her stats. She realized that would only make herself and her team worse. Her teammates wouldn’t trust her as much. So she focused on being a selfless player the past three seasons. She tries to put the team first.
Yes, Bell knows she can rise up for a big point. But she wants her teammates to do it first. She wants them to get that big block or kill – like she tells Bruhm to do.
Her selflessness and leadership grew and grew. As Bell did so, her game grew as well. She became the AUS MVP this season and a First-Team All-Canadian. Bruhm noticed it.
“Liv. You’re doing a good job,” Bruhm would tell her. “This is the type of person we need.”
Bell hears those words and tries to stay mindful. She tries to stay in the moment. She’ll hold her teammates’ hand a little bit longer – and look them in the eye when she does so. She’ll lead the huddle as they take a deep breath as a team.
When she goes to serve, she’ll close her eyes for a second. She’ll take in the noise. She’ll let the moment go and refocus. When she goes down to tie her shoes – which happens to be untied quite often – she’ll realize she’s in the present.
As Bell and Bruhm approached their final university game, they were aware of that present moment. Of what it meant as well. Bruhm called it bittersweet.
She thought of their season. They didn’t win the AUS title but took down the powerhouse Dalhousie Tigers in the semi-finals along the way. She remembers the energy from the huge crowd as they did so in her final home game.
She and Bell finally reached nationals in their last season. They won a game – beating the Montreal Carabins in the consolation semi-finals. They celebrated together with their teammates on the court afterwards.
Now, they had a chance to earn fifth place. “We’re finishing on a high note,” she noted.
Bell also wanted to end on a high. She found herself leaving everything she could on the court that afternoon as the Huskies fell to the Marauders in four sets. She felt good seeing the younger players playing as hard as they did for her, Bruhm and her fellow seniors. She shed a couple of tears.
The two of them will be going their separate ways. Bell is planning on playing professionally. Bruhm will graduate with a Bachelor’s of Commerce and will be working for a marketing firm. They both feel the excitement of starting the next chapter of their lives.
As they hugged and then walked off the court one last time, Bell felt the emotions of the moment.
“I loved played with you,” Bruhm told her. “Don’t drop your head. Be proud of everything.”
“I’m really proud of you,” Bell responded.
Shortly afterwards, Bruhm told Bell she’ll hop on a flight to see her play overseas. Like so many times before, Bell felt reassured hearing that from her best friend.
She knows their tight friendship will remain.
Featured Image: Laurel Jarvis/U SPORTS