Even a photograph of Machu Picchu is enough to boggle the mind. The ruins of the former Inca citadel, situated among the mountains of southern Peru, rank among the most famous man-made landmarks on Earth.
This summer, Madison Smeathers had a chance to see it all up close.
"Pictures could never do it justice," the Center Grove graduate said. "It’s just insane to see it in person."
In June, Smeathers spent 10 days in Brazil and Peru as part of an offseason excursion with the Ohio State volleyball team. The Buckeyes played matches against the under-20 national teams from both countries, as well as a a Brazilian club team.
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The team also made a handful of community service stops and had a chance to do some sightseeing; in addition to Machu Picchu, the OSU contingent also visited the famed Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro.
NCAA rules allow teams one international trip every four years. Most volleyball teams travel to Europe, but Ohio State coach Geoff Carlston, who previously worked with the Peace Corps in Latin America, wanted to expose his players to a different experience — one that included cultural immersion in some areas where poverty is more widespread.
"We got to see some things you just wouldn’t be able to see in Europe," Carlston said. "That was the driving force."
The team started their trip in Rio, which happens to be the home city of senior outside hitter Ana Beatriz "Bia" Franklin. Carlston noted that the original travel plans only included Peru, but he and his staff worked to add Brazil to the itinerary largely because of Franklin.
"It was so awesome for us, because we knew we were going to see her home," Smeathers said. "She had already been to pretty much all of ours."
After spending a couple of days in Rio, the Buckeyes traveled about 45 minutes east to the city of Saquarema, where the Brazilian national teams are headquartered at the Volleyball Development Centre.
Next, the team headed west to Lima, Peru, for some more volleyball before traveling south to Cusco and Machu Picchu.
Service stops were sprinkled in along the way, including one at a school for disabled children in Peru where the students taught the OSU players how to play the drums and exchanged paintings with them.
Smeathers, who has studied Spanish in both high school and college, appreciated having the chance to get some real-life practice with the language in Peru. She said that understanding the Portuguese spoken in Brazil was a little more difficult, but that the similarities between the two languages allowed her to at least be functionally literate in both countries.
"It was kind of cool to be in an environment like that," Smeathers said. "You swim or you don’t."
The trip was a welcome bonding experience for Ohio State, which has added six freshmen and two transfers to a team coming off of an injury-plagued 2018 campaign that resulted in a 12-20 record overall and a 3-17 mark in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes lost their final 12 matches of the season.
Smeathers was caught up in the injury wave a year ago, playing in just 34 sets over 12 matches. The 6-foot-3 middle blocker was solid when available, totaling 70 kills and 13 blocks, but Carlston is counting on her to play a much larger role this fall as the Buckeyes try to rejoin the conference’s upper echelon.
"Madison is our most experienced player," he said, "and one of the things we’re going to challenge her with is that she’s going to have to have strong shoulders. A lot of players are going to be looking up to her."
Having an extra three weeks together during the summer — NCAA rules allowed for 10 days of training before the trip to South America — should help the Buckeyes hit the ground running when preseason officially begins this month.
Carlston calls the trip "transformational," and Smeathers agrees wholeheartedly.
"We were thrown in the fire together, getting to know each other," she said. "I have the best relationships from being with these girls for 20 days.
"I think we’ll be doing some big things this season. Big things coming."
