On the night of Oct. 14, Bradley volleyball took down Evansville in convincing fashion to earn their sixth win of the year. While it was a much-needed victory, it was relatively uneventful as it only changed the Braves’ conference standing by a place or two.
However, for senior Karagan Coggin, this October victory meant something more.
That Friday night was the team’s annual Cancer Awareness Night, which Coggin’s mother was able to attend. Back in her daughter’s junior year of high school, Rhonda Coggin was diagnosed with breast cancer, sending a shockwave through her family. Since the diagnosis, Coggin has worn a pink scrunchie in her hair every time she takes the court, supporting her mom every step of the way.
Winning the fight, Rhonda became cancer-free three years ago and has become one of Karagan’s biggest cheerleaders.
“Ever since she fought it, it just made me feel like I should work harder, and because she was able to work hard I was able to work hard, too,” Coggin said.
Cancer aside, it has not been an easy road for the middle blocker. After a standout freshman year at Bartlett High School in Bartlett, Tennessee, Coggin and her family packed their bags for St. Louis, where she would play her next two years of volleyball.
At Lafayette High School, Coggin won a state championship as a sophomore and captured all-district honors as a junior, averaging 1.4 kills per set and a .400 hitting percentage. The next year, Coggin moved back to her hometown of Bartlett and picked up right where she left off, averaging over five kills per set and a healthy amount of blocks.
With all this moving around, how did Coggin land at Bradley?
Well, luckily for Braves fans, the stop in St. Louis introduced her to the Hilltop, and her mind was made up immediately.
“I knew I wasn’t going to change where I was going to go,” Coggin said. “It was an easy choice to stay where I was even though we moved to Tennessee.”
Coggin came on strong once she got to Peoria, leading the team in blocks with 96, the first freshman to do so since 2008. Her sophomore season was even more impressive, as she averaged over two kills and nearly a block per set on her way to a Second-Team All-MVC nod. Not one to take the spotlight, Coggin gives credit to her support system for her young success.
“I had coaches and teammates who really believed in me,” Coggin said. “It made me have confidence in myself to go out and play no matter how young I was compared to who’s on the other side of the net or the person beside me.”
Her junior year was her best yet, as she claimed First-Team All-MVC honors with a laundry list of accomplishments to back it up. She broke the Bradley record for attacking percentage in Valley matches at a .345 tilt, while also becoming the first Brave to have 300 kills and at least 85 blocks in a season since 2004.
Now, as a senior, she already leads the team in kills and is second in blocks, quickly becoming a favorite of first-year head coach Alicia Williams.
“She’s a lot like I was when I was her age,” Williams said. “You can just see that she competes and it’s very personal when she competes because she wants to be the best.”
That competitiveness is what stands out the most to Williams, an MVC second-teamer herself at Creighton. She even sees the top-dog mentality on Coggin’s face and in her body language on the court, something that is quite unique for a college athlete.
“I think Karagan always believes that Karagan is going to be the best player on the team,” Williams said. “You can’t tell whether she’s hitting .500 or .200 because she’s going to bring the demeanor of ‘Give me the ball.’ We like that about her.”
The ballhawk mindset is especially evident in the team’s victories, as Coggin has been the one starting many set-winning rallies this season. In fact, the Braves beat Evansville thanks to Coggin’s kill that set her team up for match point in the final frame.
Coggin’s serving has also added a new wrinkle to her game. She leads the team in aces with 19, blowing away her career high of 12 set in her sophomore year. With her all-around skill, there’s very little for Williams not to love about the four-year starter.
“A lot of people sub out their middles [and] just have someone else serve, but she goes back there and we know we can rattle off two [or] three points with her serve,” Williams said. “In crunch time, I think we can all agree that Karagan is probably going to get the ball because she has the belief that she’s going to do it.”
And once again, Coggin gives all the praise to those around her.
“[My teammates] really helped me get through some hard times that I’ve had to go through [and] are always the first ones to say congratulations or ‘Hey, you got the next one,’” Coggin said. “That’s a big help when you’re doing so well and you’re only getting better.”
However, Williams says Coggin has been the one helping her teammates lately. With a firm voice and a tough demeanor, she’s been the role model the squad needs.
“She has this ‘I don’t care, we gotta get the job done’ attitude,” Williams said. “When she gets in, our team kind of has this new life because she has that mindset. She leads through getting stuff done.”
Sitting at 7-14 overall and 3-6 in conference play, the Braves’ season has not been the going-away party Coggin has hoped for, at least to this point. Still, she has the same goal she had before the season started: win the MVC.
“It’s still very early; we haven’t even hit the halfway point yet,” Coggin said. “Especially with everybody winning and losing, I think it’s up for grabs for anybody.”
The Braves have nine games left until the MVC Tournament and possibly the last time Coggin wears the red and white. Wherever the road may take her next, she’ll always have that pink scrunchie to remind her of why she plays.
“She’s just a good inspiration to have,” Coggin said.
