Written by Rob Speed
Photos by Priscilla Doran
DAYTON, TN – A sea of purple spread across Summers Gymnasium as a crowd of people stood to remember a Bryan student.
On November 24, 2022, Alivia Mynes and her father, Chris Mynes, were in a driving accident that took their lives. Alivia was a freshman volleyball player at Bryan. She was described in the event brochure as “the most supportive teammate on and off the court.” The remembrance of her and her father have been deeply important to the campus since.
On September 15, 2023, Bryan’s Varsity and Junior Varsity Women’s Volleyball Teams played against the Montreat College Cavaliers for the “Purple Out” event. This event asked student, faculty, and family and friends of Mynes to attend the game wearing her favorite color.
Summers Gymnasium was filled with heaps of purple clothes and accessories, worn by hopeful people shuffling about the bleachers.
All members of the volleyball teams wore special purple shirts. Most of them sported purple ribbons in their hair, some even dying parts of their hair purple in honor of their teammate.
At the beginning of the Varsity game, Alivia’s mother Jennifer and sister Sydney stood in the middle of the gym to listen to a brief eulogy. The announcer recalled Alivia’s infectious enthusiasm for her team, her close relationships to those around her, and her unwavering smile throughout everything.
One by one, members of the volleyball team walked up to the bleachers to present memorial roses.
The auditorium’s energy rang high that day, starting with the Junior Varsity game. Even with fewer people, a buzz filled the room as students shouted and cheered for their team.
The gym was covered in purple and white streamers and balloons. Purple posters reminding people to “love like Liv” and photos of Mynes were placed about the room. People’s light purple shirts also commemorated Mynes’ volleyball jersey, printing her name, her uniform number 10, and the hashtag #livelikeliv.
The Junior Varsity team quickly made a victory for themselves, sending the ball soaring across the room at many points. They won both sets with an exact score of 25-16.
The already-high excitement grew exponentially when the Varsity game began. The full auditorium chanted and rang cowbells for the Lady Lions as they stepped onto the court. An eruption of praise filled the room after the first score.
For the first set, the Lions often doubled the Cavaliers’ score, ending in a score of 25-13.
Tensions were high in the second set. The winner could hardly be predicted as the teams continuously tied each other at 5-5, 13-13, 19-19, and other points. The Lions’ and Cavaliers’ lead flip-flopped back and forth before landing at 20-25 for a Cavaliers victory.
In set three, the Lions returned to a familiar success rate. They maintained a consistently high score throughout until earning the score 25-15.
This brought tensions even higher for the fourth set, which could determine the fate of the game. The Lions delivered a powerful early game with a score of 7-1 at their first break. As they continued, though, the Cavaliers caught up significantly until a score of 20-17.
At 24-20, the whole room was standing up in anticipation. As the ball hit the floor and the scoreboard changed, the auditorium screamed in celebration of their 25-20 score, ending the game with a victory for the Lions.
Afterwards, the two teams prayed together. Many remained in the gym after the game to discuss the game and their remembrance of Mynes. Purple-clad people spread across the campus, sporting #livelikeliv to remind others of the love they were left with.
Speed is a sophomore communications major and the head of satire for the Triangle.
