After being invited to a series of trainings with the national team, Mary Lake was selected to join the USA National Volleyball Team, one of the only two college players on the roster.
'It was humbling, and I felt very grateful. I wasn't shocked, because I have confidence in my abilities. I just didn't expect them to want me to go and play with them,' Lake said.
Lake's place on the roster was rightfully earned.
At the start of the college season, Lake was 300 digs away from the most in BYU history and had 361 career assists and 70 aces. First, the national team won the volleyball nations league.
'The training was so much. It wasn't like, oh I go and party, because I was there from 8:00-3:00 or 8:00-2:00. I got so much volleyball in such a short amount of time, which was really awesome.'
Next, Lake and her team helped earn the United States a spot in the Olympics next summer in Tokyo.
'Representing the United States was surreal and very humbling. Going to different countries gave me a lot of love for America,' Lake said.
While Lake gets overwhelmed thinking about her volleyball future, she is happy to be back in Provo to focus on her senior season.
'I came back excited that this was my final season, and I want to make the most of it. I didn't want it to just be in the background, because I have just loved my experience here as a Cougar,' Lake said.
Mary Lake and the cougars now head back on the road to play number two ranked Stanford tomorrow. The match begins at 1:00 pm, and you can watch it on the Pac-12 Network.