Scholar-Athlete Series: Totemeier, Brown build a friendship even in a short season

When Annett Davis began organizing her lineup ahead of The Master’s University’s first-ever beach volleyball match this spring, the head coach felt one pairing would be especially entertaining to watch.

Throughout weeks of practice, neither Ketty Totemeier nor Kylie Brown had shown any fear when it came to going on the attack.

“They both like to swing at the ball, which would be exciting to watch and tough to defend,” Davis says.

As it turned out, that was one of many things Brown and Totemeier held in common, so it was hardly shocking when they developed a friendship that will outlast the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

For one thing, they share a sharp academic focus that's complemented by a creative flair.

Both players were named Golden State Athletic Conference Scholar-Athletes this semester.

Brown, a senior, holds a 3.71 GPA as a marketing media major and hopes to build a career as a social media marketer. She loves that TMU has allowed her to fuse what she learns in business and communication classes.

“It was the perfect mix,” Brown says, “going from studying what goes into selling a product well and then using what I just learned by making a video, recording a podcast or creating a poster in Photoshop. It was really fun.”

Totemeier, a junior athletically, is a communication major with a 3.73 GPA and an eye toward illustrating children’s books. Currently, she writes stories for TMU’s student newspaper and says she appreciates the support and inspiration she’s received from those in her department.

“I’ve never been more excited to write and dream than when I am being spurred on by my classmates and professors,” she says. “They show you clear avenues in which creativity glorifies the Lord, and that was something I had a really hard time seeing before coming here.”

Ahead of deadlines or exams, Totemeier and Brown would study in the school’s on-campus coffee shop or send each other encouraging text messages.

“There would be times too when one of us would feel stressed about an assignment and we’d take time to pray through it with each other, which was super awesome,” Brown says. “It was cool to have a partner who not only cared about athletics but academics as well.”

Totemeier and Brown were equally intentional when it came to charting the course of their season.

They had met two years earlier at a Master’s volleyball camp before Totemeier transferred to TMU from Santa Barbara City College, but they didn’t really get to know each other until this season.

After Davis announced TMU’s pairings, Totemeier and Brown drove to In-N-Out Burger to lay the foundation for their team over a Double-Double, protein style.

They discussed music (they both like the electro-pop hit “Dance Monkey,” a tune they often jammed out to on the way to practice) and coffee (they dig vanilla lattes). On a more serious note, they jotted down detailed goals for what they wanted to accomplish.

They were determined to maintain a .500-or-better winning percentage, and even in a loss, they wanted to reach at least 20 points — 15 against an NCAA Division 1 opponent like CSUN.

They resolved not to make more than two service errors in any set and not to surrender a run of more than three points.

Totemeier would serve as captain because she was more comfortable asking for a replay and because she had the experience of playing the sport at Santa Barbara City.

Brown and Totemeier identified “mental funks" as a critical pitfall to be avoided. Positioning and chemistry, they agreed, would come with time.

“Maybe we didn’t get the missed-serves goal,” Totemeier says, but the duo succeeded in nearly every other area.

Brown and Totemeier won each of their first three matches, providing Master’s with its only win against Concordia University Irvine on Feb. 21, Totemeier’s 20th birthday.

Against CSUN, they lost 21-19 and 21-16. It was the pair’s final match as TMU’s No. 3 team. They moved up to the No. 2 position against Cal State Los Angeles later in the day, checking another goal off their list.

“They became more consistent as they continued to work together,” Davis says. “For not playing beach volleyball before, Kylie did a great job assimilating to the game, and having an experienced player like Ketty behind her made this team win some key matches for us. Their athleticism and desire to both swing hard and not settle for shots made them an exciting team to watch.”

Davis was not surprised to learn that Brown and Totemeier had been named GSAC Scholar-Athletes, an honor that goes to players of at least sophomore status who hold a 3.5 GPA or higher. It was even less shocking that they developed a friendship.

“I think we got along really well because of our mutual love for the Lord, our work ethics and our love for volleyball. Also because of our same sense of humor and the way we expected to be pushed by each other,” Totemeier says. “Good friends call each other out.” 

Says Brown, “I wish we would’ve had our entire season so we could continue playing together and hanging out in Trophy Coffee, but for the time we had, we became close. I plan on coming back next year to cheer her on.”