Middle blocker Chaise Campbell had quite the resume coming into college. She won the 2018 4A state championship at Shorecrest Preparatory School and earned 2018 All-Tampa Bay first team honors. She even threw the shot put and placed ninth at the state meet.
Yet when Campbell made an unofficial visit to Alabama, she knew she wanted to call it home.
“You kind of have that feeling of when you first get on campus of where you should be,” Campbell said. “I went off of that feeling and ever since that, I loved it here.”
Campbell made noise during her freshman year, starting in all 22 games for the Crimson Tide, where she put up 67 kills, 48 blocks and 93.5 points.
During the first season, Campbell began to see the growth in herself as a player.
“Looking back at my freshman self and … being nervous to lead and being nervous to put myself out there and trusting my teammates helped me play my game to my maximum ability,” she said.
Over the next few seasons, Campbell’s growth was exponential. She increased in every statistic from 2020 to 2021 and continued to dominate in 2022.
Yet 2023 was her best season yet. Campbell had 196 kills, 80 blocks and 243 points across all 29 matches. She also posted her career-high hitting percentage of .321 and her career-high total attacks of 430.
Following the 2023 season, Campbell said it was easy to come back and make her fifth year her best yet.
“It was an easy decision to make,” Campbell said. “I put my name in the portal for a second, but really figured out who I am and how much I do love the school, staff and being here.”
2024 is on pace to be Campbell’s best season yet. She’s set to shatter her previous highs in every major statistical category with seven games left.
Campbell has been a major factor in Alabama’s improvement in SEC play, which included an upset win over then-No. 25 Auburn. Campbell led the team in points (17.5) and tied for most kills (15). Campbell even had back-to-back service aces to win Set 4 for the Crimson Tide.
The win was a major one for Campbell and the rest of the team, as it was the first time in Campbell’s and head coach Rashinda Reed’s career that they had beaten Auburn.
“I feel amazing,” Reed said after the game. “I am incredibly proud of this team … it’s something they put their heart and soul into, and it paid off.”
With only seven regular season games left in her career, Campbell still wants to reach her personal goal of giving it her all.
“I want to be able to look back at the season and say I put it all out there,” Campbell said. “I worked hard to be where I am at … this is the end, this is all that I will be doing, I want to be really dialed in.”
Fans can see Campbell representing the Crimson Tide in Gainesville, Florida, on Sunday against the No. 22 Florida Gators. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
