By Jim Hague
Sometimes, it just takes a little bit of time and maturity to develop the best that could come out of a college student-athlete.
That’s what happened with Rutgers-Newark junior libero Brione Lockett of the women’s volleyball team.
Lockett has been an integral part of the Scarlet Raiders for the prior two seasons, so it wasn’t that she didn’t already own a vital piece to the R-N rotation.
But Lockett just decided to develop into a solid cog before the 2018 season began in earnest a few weeks ago.
“When I first came to school at Rutgers-Newark, I didn’t know what I was,” Lockett said. “I really didn’t have a position. I didn’t know what I was in for. I didn’t think I’d have a tough time, because I already played with a good club team (IMPACT), but because of the competition, I was going in a little scared. I had to take my time. In high school, I was more of a defensive player, but after playing club this summer, it made me realize that I needed to have more of a defensive presence.”
And that meant one thing. Lockett was going to concentrate on being a full-time libero. It’s basically a thankless position, with not a lot of a chance to gain attention or glory. You just have to concentrate and do your job, making sure that the game continues on. And that’s it. It’s as thankless as the guy who sweeps up the opera house after a performance and makes a pile of the discarded programs that ended up on the floor.
No one wants to be the libero, but Lockett decided that was her role, her destiny.
And there was one aspect of being the libero that worked well with Lockett’s talents. She owns a great service.
“She has an incredible serve,” said third-year R-N head coach Megan Knott. “Her serve throws off the opposition.”
“I spent a lot of time working on my serve,” Lockett said. “It gave me a lot of confidence.”
Lockett said that she gained a lot of self assurance from her father, Sharif Mansour, who was a soccer player in his day, playing at Ramapo.
“My Dad is my main support,” Lockett said. “He always has that positive attitude. He practices motivational volleyball and works on it. That kept me up.”
When Lockett was in high school at Thomas Edison Career and Technical Academy in Elizabeth, N.J., she didn’t know whether she wanted to be a volleyball player.
“My Dad wanted me to play tennis,” Lockett said. “That didn’t work out.”
Lockett stuck with volleyball, which was a blessing for Coach Knott and her program.
“I played in every single match as a freshman and that experience gave me a lot of confidence,” Lockett said. “I developed a lot of strength. Serving to me was a blessing.”
Lockett has a ritual she goes through before she serves the ball with accuracy and velocity.
“I bounce the ball five times before I serve it,” Lockett said. “It’s my lucky number. It’s the number I wear. I motivate myself with that number and that routine,”
Knott liked the way Lockett came to preseason practices.
“This past summer, she worked her tail off,” Knott said. “She stepped up and knew what she had to do. We lost some key people in our defense, so we needed to have Brione step up.”
The loss of four-year starter and resident libero Sue Riley to graduation really hit the Scarlet Raiders hard, but Lockett was poised to step right in and fill the void.
“She was just able to step into that role,” Knott said. “I could always count on her, but she has definitely stepped up. I used to come into the gym and see her working hard every day.”
When the Scarlet Raiders began practices and preparations for the start of the season, Lockett was more than ready.
“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” Knott said. “But I felt she was going to be huge for us this season. I can already see it. She’s going to continue working hard and she’s only going to get better. She’s also become more vocal and taken on a new leadership role.”
Knott loves Lockett’s overall approach.
“She’s very easy going,” Knott said. “She’s really funny. She makes people laugh. She has an easy going personality and she’s easy to get along with.”
Lockett is a journalism major and hopes to one day becoming a television news anchor or have her own show.
“I’m actually working on my own project right now and possibly getting a podcast,” Lockett said. “I also want to start my own YouTube channel and discuss different things on that. I’m planning it out right now.”
