Aubriel Loken has signed with Colorado Mesa to continue her volleyball career at the collegiate level.
The Gunnison senior put in the hard work on the court for the Cowboys and on the offseason recruiting circuit to get noticed. It was a painstaking process but one that landed her the opportunity to continue as a defensive specialist/libero at the next level.
“Volleyball is a popular girls sport,” Loken said. “There’s a lot of competition out there. I sent a lot of emails to coaches. I went to a lot of camps and campus visits. It took a whole bunch of things to come together and a little bit of luck, too. The recruiting process is very challenging; it’s a lot of work and very hard.”
But that didn’t stop Loken. She was a key cog in the Gunnison lineup that made back-to-back appearances in the Class 3A state tournament. The Cowboys might play in a smaller division and her club team might not carry the name brand recognition of other bigger ones throughout the state, yet she had a dream of playing at the next level.
Which led her to reach out directly to college coaches. She’d send an email with her name, height and stats. It was a way to get her name out there, even if the email didn’t yield a reply she had everything to gain and little to lose by pressing ‘SEND.’
Then there were the summer camps. A big tournament would feature between 200 and 300 players and last a week. Competition was fierce and gave her a chance to test her game against some of the best players out there.
Also, there were smaller camps at a high school that featured 30 players. They might just last a half day but offered her the opportunity to be seen by college coaches or scouts in attendance.
“Gunnison is a small school and even my club team was small so it’s hard to get a lot of exposure,” Loken said. “The biggest thing I felt successful in was going to camps. I knew my hard work and determination would help me. I always had to work harder and being in Gunnison, I had to use every connection I had. There are plenty of times I thought, ‘I'm done, I’m not getting anywhere.’”
Through perseverance though, Loken landed her opportunity. She had attended the Colorado Mesa summer camp for five straight years. It was a fun, welcoming environment. She’ll have a 5th-year senior, a senior and another freshman at her position. She’s excited for the competition and the chance to begin a career that might lean towards exercise science or psychology in her undergraduate years. Then, if she likes that path a master’s degree in occupational therapy.
First, there’s volleyball though and she’s grateful that hard work has paid off.
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