The 2024-25 Rams Reflect is the 10th in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of Suffolk teams have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Suffolk University.
For a complete listing of past and present Rams’ Reflections, click here.
Tatum Kalt, Women's Volleyball | Hometown: West Bloomfield, Mich. | Major: Interior Design
It seems crazy to me that a few weeks ago marked the final match of my collegiate volleyball career, and with it, the end of a 14-year journey playing competitive volleyball.
I have loved volleyball since I went to my first clinic when I was eight. It’s a love that remains today and one that I will always be grateful for. Through it, I learned so much, not just about volleyball, but about life, the challenges it can bring, and how we rise to meet those challenges. Especially over the past four years as a member of the Suffolk volleyball team.
I remember like it was yesterday walking into our first preseason practice as a freshman. I was super nervous. It was 2021 and I was part of a large 12-person freshman class. At our first team meeting, Coach Blanchard told us we were there to “bring about a new era of Suffolk volleyball.” I wasn’t sure if I would see any playing time as there were five other Libero/DS’s on the team. I was and still am so grateful I had the opportunity to play and contribute to our team. That season truly marked the beginning of the rise of Suffolk volleyball.
My sophomore and junior seasons were a whirlwind. Personally, I gained confidence, experience, and a better understanding of myself. One of the things that made our team so strong was our defense, and I feel proud to have been an integral part of that. While there is nothing I love more than dramatically somersaulting or diving after a ball to keep it in play, I came to understand that being a true student-athlete does actually require something more. It means excelling on the court, but it also means forgiving and forgetting. Forgiving yourself when you make a mistake and finding a way to forget about it, reset and move on. It means showing respect and compassion to your teammates on and off the court: remembering that we all make mistakes, and that in the end, we must support each other like a family if we hope to win on the court and it means being a mentor to new team members. While these seasons may not have ended the way we would have liked them to, I still look back on them and feel a true sense of accomplishment.
This past season flew by. As hard as I tried to push the thought that it was the beginning of the end away, it was not easy. The first last match of our senior season, the first last team dinner, the last pair of volleyball shoes I would wear in Ridgeway … I couldn’t imagine my life without volleyball playing a major role in it. Out of that large 2021 recruiting class of 12, only five us remained. The original five plus one transfer began our senior season with the same goal that was presented to us four years ago: to fulfill and solidify this new era in Suffolk volleyball history. Our 23-7 fall 2024 season marked the accomplishment of that goal and made us the winningest team in Suffolk volleyball history.
Looking back at my college volleyball career, I feel nothing but pride for the 112 matches and 337 sets I was fortunate enough to play in. It was always my dream to play volleyball in college. A dream that I never gave up on, despite being told it wasn’t a possibility for me.
No matter where I go in life, I will always be thankful to volleyball for teaching me the importance of hard work, effort, persistence and to never give up on the things that you love.
Thank you Suffolk volleyball, it has truly been an honor to be a part of this amazing program.
Sincerely,
Tatum Kalt, #7