The U.S. Women's Volleyball team is looking to defend their gold medal title at the Paris Olympics and there is a good chance North Texas will be represented on that roster.
Chiaka Ogbogu of Coppell was on the gold medal team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but said she can't rest on knowing she's 'been there before.'
"We are all still working really hard," Ogbogu said. "You just don't know. There is just so much talent on this team right now."
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At just 29 years old, Ogbogu is considered one of the veterans on the team. She has been a member of the national team since her first appearance with them in 2018. She has played professionally in Italy, Poland and Turkey. Before her professional career, she was a decorated student-athlete at the University of Texas at Austin. She graduated with the most blocks in school history.
That is until Asjia O'Neal, who is also hoping to make the trip to Paris with the team, came behind her and broke that record.
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"It's just really fun because the veterans, like Chi [Chiaka], make it such a comfortable environment where you feel like you can be yourself and you don't feel all this stress and unnecessary pressure to be this perfect player all the time," O'Neal said.
Being a professional athlete is already an extremely difficult feat, but for O'Neal it has been an even harder road. She was born with a heart condition. She had open heart surgery when she was 13 and then again her freshman year at UT.
"It's like my thoughts and my journey has changed so much and my projection of what my future would look like has changed really every single year, so it's really special to be able to look back on what I've gone through and see how far I've come," O'Neal said.
As O'Neal and Ogbogu look towards hopefully being members of Team USA, they also know their mental game is just as important as the physical aspect.
"I think having that balance all across the board allows you to show up in those spaces and be your whole self instead of feeling depleted," Ogbogu said.
O'Neal has much of the same sentiment, especially in a team sport.
"One person can't just take over and win the whole match, so we're really taught from a young age to always depend on and push the people around us and I think that's what makes the sport so fun," O'Neal said.
USA Volleyball hopes to finalize the roster heading to the Paris Olympics in early June.
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