by A 45-minute drive to club practice.
Then a 45-minute drive home, before making another 45-minute drive in the opposite direction to high school practice.
Then, making the drive home again.
Altogether, that’s a day with 180 minutes spent in the car. Just to play volleyball.
That’s what Carson Tyler did for months on end when she was a high school volleyball player in Pavilion, New York. Her mom, Kelly, said her daughter never complained once.
“It was crazy to me because most kids don’t want to be in the car for an hour and a half, and she did it every day,” she said.
If you ask Carson about the trek, she shrugs and shows little reaction.
But that’s the thing. She will do whatever it takes to get better, and over the last two seasons, with that mindset, the sophomore has helped Ball State women’s volleyball capture victory after victory on the court.
“It’s nice to see it all pay off, because it’s obviously not easy,” Carson said.
‘Born into the gym’
Carson knew she wanted to play volleyball. In fact, she said she’s never known anything else, as the dream started ‘the day I was born.’
Kelly coached at the high school level for 17 years, with her husband, Brian, assisting her on the bench. Both former college athletes, the couple loved sports, but they never forced their two daughters to partake in any athletic activity.
Yet, both of their daughters picked up on it. Carson’s older sister, Katlyn, played Division I volleyball at Canisius University. When Carson was a child, she wanted to be at Kelly’s volleyball practices. She lived and breathed what the team was doing at all times.
“I was born into the gym … At my sister’s tournaments, I would constantly beg someone to just play with me on the sidelines,” Carson said. “I was like, ‘Mom, Dad, like, come on. Someone’s gotta play with me.’
And all of the parents would take turns playing with me.”
But while the interest was there, something started to form. The more Carson was around the game, the more Kelly noticed there was something special about her daughter. It started when her daughter was just five years old. When she would hit the ball, her form spoke for itself as she looked like she’d been doing it for years.
Kelly said there were comparisons made by other coaches to well-known volleyball players who were from the local area.
“She just picked it up so naturally, but I think because she was around it since she could walk,” Kelly said. “She just was around it her entire life.”
Yet, her drive came from something else. It wasn’t that she was just good or had people noticing her ability from a young age. It’s how she felt when she stepped on the court and what she learned from the game. It connected with something much deeper.
“It was who I wanted to be and what I wanted to be around,” Carson said.
But as time went on, her will to improve only grew. However, Carson believes that aspect wasn’t just related to volleyball, and she said it still isn’t to this day. The Tyler family was competitive at everything, ranging from board games and the infamous family games of pig.
“They’re pretty intense,” Kelly said. “It drives her crazy to lose, and she can’t stand it. She will do whatever she has to do to win.”
Kelly, a former college basketball player, won most of the battles when the tradition started. But Carson adapted and put her own self-drive into the friendly matches. She started hitting shots that Kelly couldn’t match.
“Obviously, I am older, and I don’t have the strength that she has,” Kelly said. “So she’ll go back and do the really deep shots, like a solid 3-pointer. I just look at her and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me right now?”
But that is just one example of her personality. You cannot tell Carson that something is unobtainable because sooner or later, she will prove you wrong. Kelly said after adapting that idea to her volleyball skills, things began to take off for her youngest daughter.
“Carson’s like, ‘Oh no, I’m going to do this because I’m going to beat you.’ I think she just views it as a challenge,” Kelly said.
Carson confirmed that, and she said she has never quite felt good enough at her game. During her high school career at St. Mary’s High School, she smashed 1,744 kills and 1,045 digs and had 213 aces. She also won three state championships with the Legends.
Carson finished her senior season as the New York Gatorade Player of the Year. That still was not enough.
“I just enjoyed challenging myself to see how good I could become, and I was never satisfied with the outcome of a season, or satisfied with where I was,” Carson said.
”I think I always wanted to see what that next level could be for me.”
‘An email’
Carson knew she wanted to play college volleyball outside New York, and while she was viewing possible schools, coaches were also looking at her.
“The first time that I had seen her play, she was really stuck out. She carries herself in a very competitive way, she’s got a great arm and moves really fluidly,” Ball State women’s volleyball head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. “I think the first time I saw her, she was playing up either two or three age divisions. Yet, she still stuck out.”
It did not take long for Miller Phillips to reach out to the outside hitter about the possibility of coming to Muncie.
“I got an email from Kelly, and I talked to her on the phone for a little bit,” Carson said. “She was like, ‘All right, let’s get you out to campus.’ … The second I stepped on campus, I just had a feeling and thought this is the right place, and this is where I want to be.”
With Delaware County having a history of success when it comes to volleyball, Carson said it didn’t take long for that aura to surround her. She said it’s common for her to be approached in public when she is repping her team.
“If you have a Ball State volleyball jacket on or something like that, [fans] come up to you immediately,” Carson said. “They want to see what your team can do this year, or what a certain player can do. I think the support around that pushes you every day because it’s like, ‘Okay, they’re here to support me too.”’
In her freshman season, Carson became a weapon for the Cardinals, recording 374 kills and having an average of 3.34 kills per set. She was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and appeared on the All-MAC First and Freshmen teams.
Though she was proud of the achievements, she never planned on that type of season. She had one goal, which was to be a reliable teammate.
“I just thought of it as ‘What can I do to help my team in the best way possible?’ And that motivated me,” she said.
The Cardinals finished the 2024 season as the Red and White fell in the championship game of the MAC Tournament. Carson said this not only fueled the entire program but also drove her to try and match the success coming into the 2025 campaign.
“I had a great year for sure,” she said. “But then it’s like, ‘What can I keep getting better at and how can I improve my game?’”
With four matches remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals are already locked in for the MAC Tournament as they lead the league with a 13-1 record. Carson leads the team with 430 kills and is ranked No. 1 in the conference in the category. She is tied for fifth place in kills in the entire NCAA.
Miller Phillips said none of this has been a surprise.
“She’s earned it, and she earns it every day,” she said. “She still has a ways to go for her to reach where she needs to be playing at a consistent level, but she’s a great player … She certainly does her part every day.”
‘Not taking a day for granted’
Part of the reason Carson believes Ball State volleyball often finds success is because of the culture Miller Phillips has created. She said she’s unlike any of her former coaches.
“I always played for coaches who were very into it. They were very animated on the sidelines and would scream and yell. Then there’s Kelly,” Carson said. “Sometimes, we’d walk into a huddle, and I would wait for her to yell. But she’s just so calm … And I’m like, ‘Whoa, this is different.’ I was ready to get screamed at.”
Yet, because of her coaching style and the coaching staff’s method in general, Carson said the team gets a unique feeling when they are on the court. This comes during both games and in practice.
“It’s never really been a chore to go to practice and do anything like that,” she said. “It’s always been attacked, which is much different than most teams. I think this team truly enjoys the process of it.”
However, Carson said her talent on the court is just one benefit of her drive. She’s developed positive relationships like the one with Miller Phillips and memories because of her willingness to never stop going.
She talked about the chemistry with the rest of the Cardinals, and that love and respect for each teammate has only grown through off-court card games and other activities.
“You want to go out there and give it your all every single day for the team,” Carson said. “And I think we all do a really good job of that. Everyone on the team is very committed to being the best version of themselves for the person next to them. It’s never been about being an individual.”
Carson added that playing for Ball State and seeing this roster find success has been something she will never forget.
“I’m not taking a day for granted. [The entire] team is contributing to this goal, and we couldn’t have done anything that we’ve done this year without every single person next to us,” she said. “I think it’s all the contributing factors to it.”
But the success does not surprise Kelly.
She said everything Carson has achieved began years ago when her daughter was just a high school athlete, sitting in a car for hours and never having one bad thought about the process of getting better.
“That’s why she has accomplished the things that she has accomplished,” Kelly said. “Growing up and even in high school, nothing was ever good enough … I don’t think her mindset will ever change, and I sure hope it doesn’t.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
