瑞安·巴尼特很紧张。 It was the middle of the volleyball season, and just beyond the locker room, the outside hitter knew the roaring crowd inside Pauley Pavilion was ready for the match to begin: Pepperdine versus the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)—a premier top 25 NCAA matchup. Barnett expected that the contest would demand his best, but he couldn’t shake the butterflies swarming in his stomach.

瑞安·巴尼特瞄准了一个尖刺

Lost in a cloud of doubt, the redshirt junior and team co-captain turned to Mark 4:40, in which Jesus calms the stormy waters and asks his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? 你还没有信仰吗？” These questions resonated deeply with the nervous Waves volleyball player.

“That passage taught me that I can be nervous before a match, but once I step on the court it’s just joy,” says Barnett. “我正在从事我热爱的运动…… and [I can] surrender the outcome.”

自从接受了这个观点后，Barnett在他的比赛中开启了新的维度。 Playing with renewed freedom, he has propelled Pepperdine to a 20-9 record, culminating in the team’s seventh Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament title (where the Waves defeated the Bruins in the semifinal) this April, and a berth in the NCAA Championships. After fighting fear with faith in the locker room at Pauley Pavilion, Barnett has realized his true potential as both an athlete and a leader.

运动卓越

“Surreal” is the word Barnett uses to describe the last three weeks of the 2025 volleyball season. During the final 10-game stretch, the six-foot-five outside hitter recorded 167 kills at a 0.340 attack percentage. Notably, in the MPFS conference tournament, he hammered home 44 kills against the second- and the fifth-ranked teams in the nation (UCLA and the University of Southern California, respectively) to propel the Waves into the NCAA tournament they’re competing in this week in Columbus, Ohio.

巴尼特中发球

This exceptional play solidified an already strong year for Barnett, who ranks in the top 25 nationally for aces per set, hitting percentage, kills per set, and points per set. On Monday, May 4, these accomplishments earned him recognition as a 美国排球教练协会（AVCA）全美第一阵容—an honor he did not anticipate receiving.

“我从来都不是打排球的那种人，”巴内特解释说。 “I’m just so grateful, happy, and joyful to go along with this [recent] ride. I really don’t know how to put it into words.”

The “ride,” as Barnett refers to it, is the culmination of a four-year process grounded in hard work. After redshirting his first year, the outside hitter began to rebuild the physical components of his game. He focused on eating well and added extra weight to his training routine. 他声称，他的目标是把自己的身体当作一台“机器”。 Despite the hard work, the junior was not in the starting lineup at the beginning of this season. However, this setback did not deter him from staying the course and keeping the faith.

“Ryan Barnett has been fantastic this season,” says 乔纳森络筒机 (‘08), head coach of the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team, who, as a setter on the same team he now leads, was a four-time All-American, a 2005 NCAA champion, and the 2007 AVCA National Player of the Year. “He’s been great about responding to challenges and difficult conversations over the last couple of years. It hasn’t been an easy journey. 他什么也没有得到。 瑞恩是靠自己的努力才走到今天的位置的。”

Barnett’s rise from role player to a First-Team All-American is a testament to his perseverance and unwavering dedication. While his path toward the top might have been unexpected given his late addition to the starting lineup, the motivations that spurred him forward highlight his enduring commitment to athletic excellence.

巴尼特庆祝波浪队获得NCAA冠军

“我想赢，我想成为最好的，”他说。 “But beyond that I want to keep playing with the guys—my teammates. 这就是团队运动的美妙之处…… On the days we’re not feeling it mentally or physically, or if something happens in school, we have each other to lean on.”

By focusing on the things that meant the most to him—a high personal standard and the camaraderie of his teammates—Barnett has grown into one of the nation’s best collegiate volleyball athletes and the leader of Pepperdine’s nationally ranked squad.

学习领导

“When Coach Winder told Gabe [Dyer] and me that we would be team captains going into this year, my only goal was to be a good leader,” Barnett explains. “I wasn’t focused on having all these accolades or even playing. I was fine being a bench player, but I was going to take these guys under my wing and show them the way.”

这种自信并不是巴内特性格中天生的一部分。 He explains that leadership is a skill he developed at Pepperdine through the mentorship of his athletic coaches and professors. By leaning on wisdom from Coach Winder and professor Ned Colletti, former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager, he gained the maturity needed to support his teammates.

巴尼特庆祝波浪队获得NCAA冠军

“Ryan Barnett has been not only a big inspiration but a huge help during the season,” says Cole Hartke, a Pepperdine first year who has made an immediate impact on the Waves volleyball team as the nation’s leading freshman scorer. “During the first few weeks of practice, he pulled me aside and told me ‘It’s not going to be easy. There will be ups and downs.’有过，瑞安一直陪着我度过了这一切。”

Harnessing his strong play and confidence, Barnett has succeeded in leading the Waves to their current position as the sixth-ranked team in the nation with a real chance of winning the NCAA title. At this point in his career—where faith is fueling his sense of freedom on the court and the joy with which he competes—Pepperdine’s outside hitter can look back on his trials and triumphs and feel a sense of contentment.

“旅程就是一切，”巴内特说。 “Reflecting on the journey, now, is better than winning in and of itself.”

Barnett and the Waves take on Loyola Chicago in the NCAA quarterfinals on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 4:30 PM PDT. The match will be streamed live on ESPN +.