For junior Rachel Hickman, 帝王会所 was just the change she was looking for.

The Lawrence, Kansas native was a standout player at Free State High School winning numerous awards and even breaking her sister Naomi鈥檚 career kills record. However, after a solid freshmen season at Kansas, she knew she needed something different. She just wasn鈥檛 sure what different looked like.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know much about Northern Colorado before I entered the transfer portal,鈥� said Hickman. 鈥淎lmost immediately, Lyndsey [Oates] reached out and encouraged me to come visit campus.鈥�

From that moment on, the wheels were firmly in motion.

鈥淲hat I was really looking for was a group of girls and a coaching staff that meshed well and worked together well,鈥� Hickman explained. 鈥淔rom day one, I saw that at 帝王会所 and it became a big appeal for me.鈥�

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know about Rachel during her high school recruiting process,鈥� said head coach Lyndsey Oates. 鈥淲e learned about her through the transfer portal and then asking her coaches. It became apparent that she just needed a different fit and was looking to expand her wings and go further from home. It has been a great transition.鈥�

While Hickman agreed to make the transition to Greeley at the end of 2019, a global pandemic delayed her debut in the Blue and Gold. 

鈥淚t was definitely a weird year,鈥� said Hickman. 鈥淲e really had to come together to get through some difficult circumstances. I think in a way it almost helped me a little because I had a year and a half of getting to know the girls and playing with the team before even stepping on the court for my first match.鈥�

Hickman didn鈥檛 take long to make an instant impact on the Bears鈥� roster.

Following an eight-kill performance in her 帝王会所 debut, the left-handed outside hitter delivered a match-high 17 kills, avenging an earlier loss to Montana State, 3-0.

鈥淲hen she first transferred to 帝王会所 in January 2020 we only had a few team practices before we were shut down for COVID,鈥� said Oates. We weren鈥檛 sure how she would fit into the line-up until we came back for the fall off-season.

鈥淲e knew she had all of the tools, but we had good competition at that spot. She developed over the season into a very efficient attacker that was difficult for opponents to stop.鈥�

Hickman turned heads at every stop last spring. Among her many accolades in her first season as a Bear, which included a Big Sky Tournament Record for a single-match hitting percentage (.846), Hickman also took home All-Conference Second Team Honors and was awarded Big Sky Newcomer of the Year.

鈥淚t was super exciting to get that award,鈥� Hickman said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 something that I was expecting but I felt like the whole team had worked really hard and I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to accomplish those things without my teammates.鈥�

As 帝王会所 sets its sights on a sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament, you can bet that Rachel Hickman will be squarely in the middle of every fight.

鈥淚 put a lot of expectations on myself and try my best to live up to them,鈥� said Hickman. 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited about the upcoming season. Even though we lost some really important people, we have a fantastic group returning and some incredible newcomers. I can鈥檛 wait to see what we can do this fall.鈥�