SE: K-State Volleyball Alum Bryna Vogel Learns to Fly (Again) in Return to Court
May 30, 2019 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Sitting in a church in Switzerland a few months ago, K-State volleyball alum Bryna Vogel listened to a sermon with an analogy that seemed to be included for her. It seemed to be about her.
The analogy centered on a butterfly breaking out of its chrysalis. As the story goes: If you cut open a butterfly's chrysalis, it can't fly when it comes out, as butterflies develop their wing strength during this process of trying to break free.
Really, the analogy was about struggle.
As Vogel listened to these words in a church about 5,000 miles from her home state, she couldn't help but see herself as the butterfly. She needed to struggle to be comfortable moving so far from Kansas. She needed to struggle to become a professional volleyball player, or just to play volleyball again, in general.
That's how she now views the end of her K-State career, cut four matches short when she tore multiple ligaments in her left knee that included her ACL in November of 2017.
"For me, going through my injury, I really related to that analogy because I felt like I needed that struggle to grow mentally stronger," she said. "Because I had big challenges to face when that injury came because, basically, my life flipped. Having that struggle helped me to strengthen my wings to fly."
A two-time Second Team All-Big 12 selection, Vogel's injury clipped her plans of a professional career. Instead, she turned to another passion: Training animals.
Vogel graduated from K-State with a degree in Animal Sciences and Industry/Production Management. She trained countless animals, including a pair of mice, during her time as a Wildcat.
This love led Vogel to a conversation with her spiritual leader in StuMo about the musical, "JESUS." Held in Branson, Missouri and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Vogel said her friend saw the musical and pointed out how many live animals are in the show.
"We were joking at the time, but she was, like, 'You could train those!'" Vogel recalled. "Then, she was, like, 'Wait a minute, you could actually do that.'"
Vogel, with a bum knee at the time, decided to look into it. To her surprise, both locations had an opening. She applied only for the Pennsylvania spot, however. She got the job and, two days after graduating, drove to Pennsylvania, where she began to strengthen her wings.
"The reason I went up to Pennsylvania is I was born and raised in Kansas. I went to college in Kansas. Going to the Missouri position, I felt like, wouldn't have been much different," she said. "So, I decided to go up to Pennsylvania."
In her first post-collegiate job, Vogel worked with camels, horses, pigs, dogs, cats, birds, donkeys, sheep and goats. She said she "loved the job" and would go back if she has an opportunity to in the future.
But, last August, she began to feel like there was unfinished business elsewhere. Specifically, on the volleyball court.
"Not being there," Vogel said, "I really, really wanted to play again."
First, Vogel had to convince herself she could.
"After my injury, I never thought I'd be able to play again," she said, "because I tore so much in my knee that I thought it was impossible to come back and play again."
The moment this thought process started to change arrived at the beginning of K-State's 2018 season. Vogel's social media feed was flooded with posts from her former teammates, excited to start another year on the court.
Then, Vogel traveled back to Manhattan for K-State's home opener. Her hunger to return grew even more. She ended up bringing up this crazy idea with K-State head coach Suzie Fritz. She told her she wanted to play professionally.
Fritz did not find it crazy at all.
"She was all for it. She was so encouraging, gave me advice and was helping me think that I could go back," Vogel said of her former coach. "Of course, she's always been there for me. No matter what's come my way, she was always the first person I'd go to. She was just so encouraging, helping me to think about myself in a positive way to see that I could go back, I could try again."
Fritz even went out of her way to connect Vogel with different agencies. Vogel eventually signed with Elite Volley, which got her a job offer last November to play for Edelline Koniz in Bern, Switzerland, the country's capital.
Initially, Vogel said the offer lit a fire of excitement inside of her. As the time to leave neared, however, she began overthinking whether it was right for her. Again, she turned to Fritz, whose advice helped clear Vogel's mind.
"She really helped me remember that this is what I wanted to do, that I wanted to play again. So, go for it," Vogel said. "Why not? Even though it's going to be a challenge (because) obviously I hadn't played for a year… I didn't end my career in a positive way, so I wanted to at least try to see if I could finish on a more positive note."
Before her decision to attempt a comeback, Vogel said her attitude toward her knee rehabilitation was not exactly positive.
"I think because I wasn't expecting to play again, I honestly didn't attack rehab like I should have," she said. "I wasn't going as hard as I could have at the beginning, just because… why? I guess, that's where I was at."
Around last September, nearly 10 months after her injury, Vogel started fully jumping again. She kept in contact with K-State volleyball athletic trainer Emily Trausch throughout the whole process, picking her brain for different exercises to return to her old explosive self.
In December, Vogel left for Switzerland. Her team was near the midway point of its season when she arrived. But the first match she played felt like the beginning of something special.
"As soon as I stepped foot out on that court, I teared up. I don't even know how to describe it," Vogel said. "It was just so awesome to have that opportunity because I didn't think I'd ever be able to play competitively again. So, stepping on that court and absorbing the crowd and realizing I have this opportunity again, I wasn't going to take it for granted. And I just played my heart out."
Vogel also played for a team filled with all Swiss women who spoke English as a second or third language. Her coach hailed from Latvia.
When she was not playing, she served as an au pair for a family in Köniz. She watched the family's children, did laundry, cooked and cleaned in exchange for a place to live. To no surprise, she also trained the family's cat to do some tricks.
She had no car but came to enjoy the public transportation system. The food was different, as was the language everywhere she went.
Changes and obstacles that might have scared her before, Vogel began to welcome.
She credited the struggle of volleyball being taken away from her for this. It led her to Pennsylvania, to Switzerland and, now, to Kenya, where Vogel's finishing up a trip with Salt Factory Sports to teach and play volleyball while working with local churches.
"It was an awesome life experience to go (to Switzerland). I feel like I learned a lot. It was so cool to be in a different culture," Vogel said. "I think that experience being away from Suzie and my support system helped me be able to go overseas. Having that little bit of time away from home helped me to really thrive overseas."
Put another way: It helped Vogel break out of her chrysalis.
Sitting in a church in Switzerland a few months ago, K-State volleyball alum Bryna Vogel listened to a sermon with an analogy that seemed to be included for her. It seemed to be about her.
The analogy centered on a butterfly breaking out of its chrysalis. As the story goes: If you cut open a butterfly's chrysalis, it can't fly when it comes out, as butterflies develop their wing strength during this process of trying to break free.
Really, the analogy was about struggle.
As Vogel listened to these words in a church about 5,000 miles from her home state, she couldn't help but see herself as the butterfly. She needed to struggle to be comfortable moving so far from Kansas. She needed to struggle to become a professional volleyball player, or just to play volleyball again, in general.
That's how she now views the end of her K-State career, cut four matches short when she tore multiple ligaments in her left knee that included her ACL in November of 2017.
"For me, going through my injury, I really related to that analogy because I felt like I needed that struggle to grow mentally stronger," she said. "Because I had big challenges to face when that injury came because, basically, my life flipped. Having that struggle helped me to strengthen my wings to fly."
A two-time Second Team All-Big 12 selection, Vogel's injury clipped her plans of a professional career. Instead, she turned to another passion: Training animals.
Vogel graduated from K-State with a degree in Animal Sciences and Industry/Production Management. She trained countless animals, including a pair of mice, during her time as a Wildcat.
This love led Vogel to a conversation with her spiritual leader in StuMo about the musical, "JESUS." Held in Branson, Missouri and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Vogel said her friend saw the musical and pointed out how many live animals are in the show.
"We were joking at the time, but she was, like, 'You could train those!'" Vogel recalled. "Then, she was, like, 'Wait a minute, you could actually do that.'"
Vogel, with a bum knee at the time, decided to look into it. To her surprise, both locations had an opening. She applied only for the Pennsylvania spot, however. She got the job and, two days after graduating, drove to Pennsylvania, where she began to strengthen her wings.
"The reason I went up to Pennsylvania is I was born and raised in Kansas. I went to college in Kansas. Going to the Missouri position, I felt like, wouldn't have been much different," she said. "So, I decided to go up to Pennsylvania."
In her first post-collegiate job, Vogel worked with camels, horses, pigs, dogs, cats, birds, donkeys, sheep and goats. She said she "loved the job" and would go back if she has an opportunity to in the future.
But, last August, she began to feel like there was unfinished business elsewhere. Specifically, on the volleyball court.
"Not being there," Vogel said, "I really, really wanted to play again."
First, Vogel had to convince herself she could.
"After my injury, I never thought I'd be able to play again," she said, "because I tore so much in my knee that I thought it was impossible to come back and play again."
The moment this thought process started to change arrived at the beginning of K-State's 2018 season. Vogel's social media feed was flooded with posts from her former teammates, excited to start another year on the court.
Then, Vogel traveled back to Manhattan for K-State's home opener. Her hunger to return grew even more. She ended up bringing up this crazy idea with K-State head coach Suzie Fritz. She told her she wanted to play professionally.
Fritz did not find it crazy at all.
"She was all for it. She was so encouraging, gave me advice and was helping me think that I could go back," Vogel said of her former coach. "Of course, she's always been there for me. No matter what's come my way, she was always the first person I'd go to. She was just so encouraging, helping me to think about myself in a positive way to see that I could go back, I could try again."
Fritz even went out of her way to connect Vogel with different agencies. Vogel eventually signed with Elite Volley, which got her a job offer last November to play for Edelline Koniz in Bern, Switzerland, the country's capital.
Initially, Vogel said the offer lit a fire of excitement inside of her. As the time to leave neared, however, she began overthinking whether it was right for her. Again, she turned to Fritz, whose advice helped clear Vogel's mind.
"She really helped me remember that this is what I wanted to do, that I wanted to play again. So, go for it," Vogel said. "Why not? Even though it's going to be a challenge (because) obviously I hadn't played for a year… I didn't end my career in a positive way, so I wanted to at least try to see if I could finish on a more positive note."
Before her decision to attempt a comeback, Vogel said her attitude toward her knee rehabilitation was not exactly positive.
"I think because I wasn't expecting to play again, I honestly didn't attack rehab like I should have," she said. "I wasn't going as hard as I could have at the beginning, just because… why? I guess, that's where I was at."
Around last September, nearly 10 months after her injury, Vogel started fully jumping again. She kept in contact with K-State volleyball athletic trainer Emily Trausch throughout the whole process, picking her brain for different exercises to return to her old explosive self.
In December, Vogel left for Switzerland. Her team was near the midway point of its season when she arrived. But the first match she played felt like the beginning of something special.
"As soon as I stepped foot out on that court, I teared up. I don't even know how to describe it," Vogel said. "It was just so awesome to have that opportunity because I didn't think I'd ever be able to play competitively again. So, stepping on that court and absorbing the crowd and realizing I have this opportunity again, I wasn't going to take it for granted. And I just played my heart out."
Vogel also played for a team filled with all Swiss women who spoke English as a second or third language. Her coach hailed from Latvia.
When she was not playing, she served as an au pair for a family in Köniz. She watched the family's children, did laundry, cooked and cleaned in exchange for a place to live. To no surprise, she also trained the family's cat to do some tricks.
She had no car but came to enjoy the public transportation system. The food was different, as was the language everywhere she went.
Changes and obstacles that might have scared her before, Vogel began to welcome.
She credited the struggle of volleyball being taken away from her for this. It led her to Pennsylvania, to Switzerland and, now, to Kenya, where Vogel's finishing up a trip with Salt Factory Sports to teach and play volleyball while working with local churches.
"It was an awesome life experience to go (to Switzerland). I feel like I learned a lot. It was so cool to be in a different culture," Vogel said. "I think that experience being away from Suzie and my support system helped me be able to go overseas. Having that little bit of time away from home helped me to really thrive overseas."
Put another way: It helped Vogel break out of her chrysalis.
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