Kennedy Eschenberg embraced her teammates as the feeling began to sink in. Some were crying, others were yelling and jumping for joy as the sold-out Smith Fieldhouse crowd watched and cheered along.
The BYU women’s volleyball team had just swept No. 5 Texas in one of the most important matches in Smith Fieldhouse history, punching the Cougars’ ticket to the 2018 NCAA Final Four.
“That feeling, it was just such a cool experience,” Eschenberg said. “Realizing we were going to the Final Four was surreal.”
The sophomore middle blocker recorded four kills, three blocks and an assist in the win against Texas that earned the Cougars their third Final Four appearance in program history. The Longhorns struggled all night long trying to find ways to hit around the six-foot five-inch Eschenberg, much like so many of the Cougars’ other opponents over the last two seasons.
Just three-and-a-half years prior to the Cougars’ win, however, Eschenberg was unsure whether she wanted to play college volleyball at all. The former Bountiful High School basketball standout struggled to decide which court she wanted to spend her collegiate career playing on. In fact, when she initially committed to BYU before her junior year of high school, she did so without declaring what sport she would play.
“It was so hard to decide,” Eschenberg said. “I didn’t know which sport to choose because I loved them both.”
Growing up, Eschenberg loved playing all kinds of sports, and even danced ballet. After sitting down with her dad before her seventh-grade year, however, the two felt she had the highest potential to succeed in both basketball and volleyball. While focusing all her time and attention to just basketball and volleyball in junior high, Eschenberg really started to believe in herself and her ability to thrive at both sports.
In addition to playing for her junior high and high school teams, Eschenberg also joined club teams for both sports. She spent most of her club volleyball career playing for Club V, where she played alongside former BYU star Roni Jones-Perry and really started to develop a deeper passion for the sport.
At the same time, Eschenberg was working just as hard and starting to excel just as much on the basketball court. While devoting so much time and energy to both sports did present its challenges, Eschenberg loved it.
“Honestly, I felt like it was a really good balance,” Eschenberg said. “Basketball helped me with volleyball and volleyball helped me with basketball. Even though it was a lot it was a ton of fun.”
The countless hours of time spent on both sports paid off during Eschenberg’s senior year at Bountiful High, when she led both her volleyball and basketball teams to 4A state titles. The dual-sport champion took home numerous individual accolades that season, including several All-Region and All-State First Team honors. Most notably, however, Eschenberg was named the 2015-16 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year — for basketball.
With her storied high school career behind her, Eschenberg was now faced with the decision that had long since been in the back of her mind. While several close friends and family members felt basketball was the clear choice for her to play at the next level, Eschenberg ultimately chose what felt right to her.
“A lot of people thought I was a lot better at basketball, and were telling me I should do that,” Eschenberg said. “I even thought about trying to keep playing both but it just seemed like too much. In the end volleyball just felt right.”
Eager for a challenge, Eschenberg also wanted to prove to herself that she could have a successful career in volleyball at the collegiate level.
“I honestly wanted to see how good I could be at volleyball,” Eschenberg said. “I just wanted to try it and really work hard at it.”
After taking a redshirt year during her first season with the program, Eschenberg has since proved to not only herself but also the college volleyball world that she can play at the collegiate level. As a freshman during the 2017 season, she averaged 1.27 blocks and 1.26 kills per set on her way to being named the WCC Freshman of the Year. Last season Eschenberg averaged 1.32 blocks and 1.92 kills per set while earning All-American honorable mention honors.
“Kennedy wants to be the best she can be,” BYU associate head coach David Hyte said. “Because of that drive, combined with her belief that she can be really good at what she does, she has sped up the process of her development. She puts her mind to it and gets it done.”
Aside from being a vital part to the team’s success the past couple of seasons, another direct result of Eschenberg’s decision to play volleyball was meeting her future husband and fellow BYU volleyball player Zach Eschenberg.
The two met after Kennedy’s redshirt season through mutual friends on each other’s teams. After getting to know each other and dating throughout both of their first years playing, the couple married in July 2018.
Both Zach and Kennedy have experienced the wear and tear that comes from traveling and playing volleyball almost nonstop. Although going through two back-to-back volleyball seasons isn’t easy, the couple shares a unique sense of empathy that allows them to help each other out.
“We both know how volleyball, school and even church all adds up together and how it can become a big stress,” Zach said. “When we notice the other one is maybe a little quiet or might be feeling a little stressed out, it’s easy for both of us to reach out and help each other.”
Zach and Kennedy realize that volleyball isn’t everything and won’t last forever. Although they haven’t ruled out any post-college playing opportunities just yet, for now Zach and Kennedy are taking things step-by-step, one day at a time. The two are locked in on making the most of the remainder of their college careers and contributing in whatever way necessary to help their teams return to the national spotlight.
“As a team, of course our goal is to win a national championship,” Kennedy said. “But we’re just taking things one day and one game at a time. I just want to work hard and see how good our team can be and how good I can be.”