The band The Clash had a hit song “Should I Stay or Should I Go” whose title would be relatable for many players in Cambria Freymuth’s shoes.
Luckily for Fort Lewis College volleyball players, coaches and fans, there was never any thought in Freymuth’s mind about going anywhere else.
The 6-foot freshman outside hitter from Carrollton, Texas, was recruited by former head coach Giedre Tarnauskaite and committed to the Skyhawks in March of 2024. Then, FLC made a coaching change in January.
Freymuth could’ve decommitted and gone somewhere else. She could’ve also decommitted after FLC hired Justin Wong to be the next head coach in March. But Freymuth decided to stay and it’s paid off for her and the Skyhawks.
She leads the Skyhawks with 177 kills, is tied for second on the team with 16 aces, is third on the team with 158 digs and third on the team with 64 sets played. The Skyhawks are 12-5 overall, 6-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and are off to their best start in at least 15 years.
“I’m feeling good,” Freymuth said. “I love the team, I love it here and the culture here is amazing … I love where we’re at and we’re a good group.”
Freymuth play isn’t jaw-dropping, but she’s a solid all-around player. She uses her size, athleticism and length well on the outside to power her kills and help the team on defense. She’s one of the tallest players on the team, but is also very smooth with her attack attempts.
The strong play of FLC’s freshman from Carrollton isn’t surprising considering her background. After trying soccer and hating it, Freymuth went to a camp and fell in love with volleyball. Freymuth knew that’s what she wanted to do and she started playing in rec leagues and started playing club volleyball when she was 11.
“There's never a dull moment in any of it,” Freymuth said about volleyball. “No matter what, everyone's involved in the play, even if they're not touching the ball. If they're on the court, even if they're on the bench, everybody's involved in it. It's such an energy sport, a momentum sport and everybody is involved in every little aspect. It's so detailed and specific to every single touch on the ball.”
Dull moments were hard to find for Freymuth growing up with the strong competition around her. Growing up about 30 minutes northwest of Dallas in Carrollton, Freymuth said North Texas is a hub for volleyball. All the high schools in her area were always at the top of the district, regional and even national rankings.
The tough competition didn’t make it easy for Freymuth. She played on her club’s lower-level and mid-level teams at the beginning of her club career. She didn’t play a lot early in her high school career at Hebron High School. In fact, Freymuth told her club coach in her sophomore year that she didn’t want to play college volleyball. She told her coach that she knew she wouldn’t play past college and she wanted to focus on her career.
Freymuth’s coach gave her the good news that she had spoken with people who thought she could play in college. Freymuth talked with her parents and realized she could study what she wanted and play volleyball.
She began looking at schools in Colorado, North Carolina and South Carolina because she wanted to study wildlife photography. Freymuth really focused on Colorado schools because she’d always wanted to live in Colorado.
FLC was her first visit and she loved the small town vibe, the scenery and the team. The girls made her feel like she was already part of the team and Tarnauskaite made her feel very welcome.
Freymuth committed to FLC and then, as a senior, Freymuth was a contributor as a right side player to Hebron’s 35-7 overall record, 14-0 district record and trip to the 6A D2 state championships.
During her senior year, the FLC coaching change happened. She got in touch with Wong; he said nothing would change with her commitment to FLC and he even made it to one of her tournaments. Freymuth knew she would work through the coaching change and learn his coaching style.
“He's very calm and very collected,” Freymuth said about Wong. “Analytical is the best word I can use to describe him. You can tell he's constantly got things running through his head. He's very good at looking at a team and picking apart little things that we, as players, haven't been able to see.”
Freymuth wasn’t sure what her role would be as a freshman with a new coach. She was put into a match in an early-season tournament and Wong hasn’t taken her out much since. The transition to college wasn’t too bad because she played at such a high level in high school. Freymuth has noticed the game is a little faster and there are some more crafty players she didn’t see in high school.
Wong noticed right away her versatility with experience as a six-rotation player, hitting and passing in the background. Since early in the season, Wong has seen her grow with her swing choices.
Freymuth has tried to improve at everything while trying to play like she’s always played. She knows she’s struggled in the past with coping with her off days on the court. Now, she knows they’re a part of the game. Freymuth knows she has a strong coaching staff and team around her to help her grow.
As she grows, it’ll only help the team grow toward the end of this season and beyond.
“Our goal is to make the RMAC tournament,” Freymuth said. “That's been our goal since we kind of all got here, because I know they haven't made it in the past … we all know we're good enough to do that this year if we stick to our work and we keep working hard. So we all have a fire of we want to do this, not just for ourselves, but for the entire team.”
