‘Tis the season for giving, and who doesn’t love a great white elephant gift exchange?
They usually entail cute, funny and small gifts, but for Lauren Briseño, a sophomore volleyball player at Baylor University, the exchange she received, was something much better — a full-ride scholarship.
The San Antonio native joined her team at a their coaches’ house, where she thought they were gathered to watch a match of the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Before the game though, the team partook in a white elephant gift exchange. After first receiving a posted signed by her teammates, Briseño was instructed by her coach to pick a different gift, which turned out to be the announcement of her full scholarship from Baylor Volleyball.
Briseño joined the team last year as a walk-on. But her skill, determination and resilience made her the only freshman to play every match for Baylor during the 2021 season.
Briseño has definitely earned her spot on the team. She served six aces against TCU — the most any player has served up in a single game. Now those skills have earned her a full-ride scholarship.
“I was not expecting it whatsoever,” Briseño told GMA “Lo and behold, I get this mystery box and I had no idea what it entailed and I opened it up and sure enough it’s a scholarship and I just burst into tears.”
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