CATHERINE JUN Sophomore outside hitter Cameron
Mount is on top of the world with a strong faith in God, a
new fiance, solid academic values and a promising future in
volleyball.
By Diamond Leung
Daily Bruin Contributor
The trademark yellow headband that Cameron Mount wears is
cheaply dyed, slightly faded and probably not something you’d
want to be within smelling distance of after practice.
The piece of cloth also happens to symbolize his dedication to
life, both on and off the volleyball court.
“I wore it last year to consciously get heckled by
people,” Mount said. “We get a lot of crap everywhere
on the road, and I figured if I tried to harden myself to it, then
I could survive it anywhere else I went.”
All Jason Kapono jokes aside, the headband has done its job.
Mount hasn’t just survived ““ he’s excelled.
Mount has emerged as one of the top players in collegiate
volleyball. The sophomore outside hitter is having a breakout
season, earning MPSF Player of the Week honors last month. He not
only leads the Bruins in kills, he also displays emotional
leadership on the court, playing with a smile on his face and
mixing in the occasional fist pump.
“This team is a very quiet team when Cameron’s on
the bench,” Coach Al Scates said. “It’s
controlled emotion (that he has) ““ an exuberance that’s
very refreshing.”
“I’ve always been kind of stupid and
obnoxious,” Mount said. “That’s my personality on
the team.”
Stupid and obnoxious? That may be a bit of an exaggeration
coming from a guy who’s 22 years old.
“I think he’s a very mature guy for 22 years
old,” Scates said. “He loves to play volleyball, and he
knows what he wants out of life.”
He’s certainly made the most of his life so far. A devout
Mormon, Mount dropped everything he had at UCLA for his two-year
mission trip after redshirting his freshman year in 1997. He spent
his time on the streets of New York City sharing his religious
beliefs with the Spanish-speaking community.
It was quite a change for Mount, who hails from the small town
of Goleta, Calif. He was allowed to call home only twice a year and
couldn’t enjoy everyday conveniences such as the newspaper,
radio and television. Missionaries also cannot date, call friends,
listen to popular music or even watch movies.
It’s enough to drive a typical teen crazy. Mount, on the
other hand, loved every minute of his mission.
“Being so totally focused on the one goal of just helping
people get closer to God was unreal to me,” he said.
“It was incredible. It was some of the best years of my
life.”
The experience was part of a personal growing process for
Mount.
“I’m an optimistic person, and my faith adds to
that,” he said. “I just have a general belief that
people are good and that God loves everyone. Even though some
terrible things do happen in this life, everything is going to work
out in the end.”
This state of mind shines through in his volleyball play. After
returning from his mission in the fall of 1999, Mount started three
straight matches for the Bruins in a tournament in Canada. He
played so poorly that Scates pulled him from all three matches. As
Mount was sitting on the bench in the middle of the third match, he
experienced a change in perspective.
“It kicked into my head that this is volleyball,” he
said. “In light of what I just did for two years, it’s
not nearly as important as anything I had learned out there.
“When something goes bad in volleyball, which it always
will, (my faith) is something that definitely keeps me
afloat.”
Another thing that keeps Mount on an even keel is his fiance,
Britney West, a freshman outside hitter at California Lutheran.
“I’m lucky to have her. She’s very supportive of
the volleyball thing,” he said.
Mount proposed to West at halftime of the men’s basketball
game with Oregon State in January, using his teammates to spell out
“Britney Will You Marry Me” on their shirts.
“I was amazed that it worked out,” Mount said with a
laugh. “I know there are a lot of knuckleheads on our team
that could have screwed it up.”
Mount and West will be married early this summer.
The couple shares a passion for volleyball, so Mount knows that
West will support his dream of playing for the U.S. Olympic Team.
The national team coach is monitoring his play, hinting that a trip
to Athens in 2004 is a possibility for Mount.
“That’s been a goal of mine since I was a little
kid. I think that would be incredible,” Mount said.
Going to the Olympics may be one of the few things that would
make Mount hold off on plans to attend law school. Mount, a
sociology major, takes care of business in the classroom, making
the Director’s Honor Roll last quarter.
“I don’t have the best study habits in the world,
but academics are important to me,” he said. “I do want
to do well because I know volleyball is not going to be the
moneymaker.”
This go-getter has his priorities straight and is fully prepared
for life after volleyball.
“Everything he does, he does his best. I haven’t
seen him fail in many things,” said Cameron’s brother
Allan, a freshman setter on the team.
With everything falling into place in terms of school, sports,
family and religion, can life get any better for the man in the
yellow headband?
According to Cameron it will.
“Oh, it’ll get better. I’m confident of
that.”