<p>The next person that sees Kabria Chapman without a smile on her face might be the first.</p>
<p>A standout junior on Franklin’s volleyball team, Chapman has stood out as much for her effervescent personality the last two seasons as she has for her All-County level play on the court.</p>
<p>Having to step into more of a leadership role after the graduation of five seniors, including All-State setter Brooke Phillips, from last year’s team doesn’t seem to have changed that.</p>
<p>Dead serious is not Chapman’s style, but she manages to get her point across anyway.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>"I have to be a little more forceful on the underclassmen just to get things done, because I know we will end up running," she said, "but I’m still the same person. I don’t want people to be afraid of me and afraid to talk to me, so I try to make myself approachable. It hasn’t changed much."</p>
<p>"She’s serious when she needs to be serious, but she also knows to have fun is better for the team than to yell at them," added Franklin coach Roxie Chapman, Kabria’s mother. "I think that her leadership skill in that way is better."</p>
<p>From a performance standpoint, Kabria Chapman was already showing the way for the Grizzly Cubs; she led the team in kills, blocks and service aces as a sophomore. But she knew that she and classmate Cami Kelsay, as the two most seasoned returnees, would be counted on to do more than just lead by example.</p>
<p>Fortunately, she’s had a chance to get some practice in that department — not only in volleyball but also in the swimming pool.</p>
<p>Zach DeWitt, Franklin’s swimming coach, says that people might underestimate how competitive Chapman is because of her cheerful demeanor, but points out that she’s willing to do whatever it takes to win, including holding her teammates accountable as necessary.</p>
<p>Now one of the more experienced Grizzly Cubs in both sports, she’s more comfortable speaking up.</p>
<p>"She probably lived under the shade of some bigger trees the last couple of years," DeWitt said, "and now that those trees, so to speak, have gone off to college, she’s just reaping the benefits of a lot more sunlight. It’s not difficult for her; it comes very naturally. And she’s a very likeable person, and because of that I think people take to her leadership pretty well."</p>
<p>Swimming will likely end up being Chapman’s meal ticket in the future; she finished fifth in the state in the 100-yard breaststroke as a sophomore, and more than a dozen colleges all over the country have already expressed an interest. There was even a conversation between mother and daughter this summer about whether she would end up not playing volleyball this season.</p>
<p>But for now, she’s still all in, fully focused on helping the Grizzly Cubs continue to improve as they chase an eighth consecutive 25-win season.</p>
<p>Far from just being along for the ride, Chapman is shouldering a more central role this fall, and she’s doing so without switching her style up one bit.</p>
<p>This Franklin team has taken on her rainbows-and-bunnies approach, and that’s fine with the coach.</p>
<p>"It’s probably the most chill team I’ve had," Roxie Chapman said.</p>
