Completed Event: Volleyball versus California on November 28, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 3
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Final
Volleyball
2
vs California
3
Bigger Than Blue
9/1/2020 12:44:00 PM | Volleyball
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke volleyball players Mackenzie Cole, Ade Owokoniran and Kincey Smith recently spearheaded a powerful collaboration with the University of North Carolina volleyball team called Bigger Than Blue.
Alongside the North Carolina's Ryan Shannon, the four student-athletes joined forces to start this initiative to stand united against social injustice in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Our whole team was really shaken after the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor," Smith said. "We immediately knew that our team and program had work to do internally as well as had the power to make changes within our communities. We had multiple conversations with our team, our coaches and alumni to grow and learn how we can create a more inclusive and supportive culture. One of our alumni, Nailah Waterfield, gave us the idea to partner with North Carolina to amplify our voices. We all respect Nailah so much and really loved this idea so we decided to run with it. One of my former club teammates, Ryan Shannon, is on the North Carolina team so it was really easy to connect and coordinate it all. Both of our teams received so much support from our coaching staff, support staff and athletic directors. We knew it would be very powerful to put our rivalry behind us and come together to stand against racial inequality."
Both squads felt the need to speak out on this topic because, they feel that staying silent is being complacent. They want to be on the right side of history.
"To be silent is to support the oppressor," Cole said. "It is incredibly important to speak out during times of injustice, especially when you are fortunate enough to have the platform that accompanies Division I athletics. We, as Division I athletes, need to use our platforms to keep pushing this movement forward. It is essential to encourage further education and communication on the topic. We should continue to challenge systemic racism in order to move towards change. I am extremely fortunate to be surrounded by amazing teammates, coaching staff and alumni that feel strongly about this movement, and who I have been able to learn from. This movement is our collective responsibility."
"This movement is like our campaign says - bigger than us and coming together showcases that," Owokoniran said. "Because the movement is not over, there are still changes and reform that needs to be made for the betterment of society. We will not stay silent and hope for a better future but take action to ensure one."
Smith noted that as a person with privilege, she will never be able to understand the struggles of being black in America, but knows it is her responsibility to educate herself, work every day to actively be antiracist and continue to support the black community.
"As we all know, the Duke/North Carolina rivalry is very intense and competitive across all sports," Smith said. "I know that we all gained a massive amount of respect for one another by joining forces for a greater purpose. I have no doubt that our games against North Carolina will continue to be fiercely competitive, however I am proud knowing that we will now use our rivalry games as an opportunity to shed light on the fact that there are some things that are bigger than the rivalry and bigger than volleyball. Fighting for racial justice and equality is undoubtably one of those things."
The fight for equality is far from over, and Duke and North Carolina have challenged several rivalry programs around the country to stand together in the fight. Florida/Florida State, USC/Stanford, Louisville/Kentucky and Texas/Texas A&M … you all are up next.
"Our efforts will not end with just this video," Smith said. "Our two programs are committed to taking action within our Durham and Chapel Hill communities. Both together, and individually, our teams plan to host peaceful protests, support black owned businesses, lend our platform to NC Central and continue to educate ourselves on systemic racism. The fight is far from being won, but both Duke and North Carolina volleyball are committed to being part of the change, no matter how long it takes."
#GoDuke
Alongside the North Carolina's Ryan Shannon, the four student-athletes joined forces to start this initiative to stand united against social injustice in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Our whole team was really shaken after the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor," Smith said. "We immediately knew that our team and program had work to do internally as well as had the power to make changes within our communities. We had multiple conversations with our team, our coaches and alumni to grow and learn how we can create a more inclusive and supportive culture. One of our alumni, Nailah Waterfield, gave us the idea to partner with North Carolina to amplify our voices. We all respect Nailah so much and really loved this idea so we decided to run with it. One of my former club teammates, Ryan Shannon, is on the North Carolina team so it was really easy to connect and coordinate it all. Both of our teams received so much support from our coaching staff, support staff and athletic directors. We knew it would be very powerful to put our rivalry behind us and come together to stand against racial inequality."
Both squads felt the need to speak out on this topic because, they feel that staying silent is being complacent. They want to be on the right side of history.
"To be silent is to support the oppressor," Cole said. "It is incredibly important to speak out during times of injustice, especially when you are fortunate enough to have the platform that accompanies Division I athletics. We, as Division I athletes, need to use our platforms to keep pushing this movement forward. It is essential to encourage further education and communication on the topic. We should continue to challenge systemic racism in order to move towards change. I am extremely fortunate to be surrounded by amazing teammates, coaching staff and alumni that feel strongly about this movement, and who I have been able to learn from. This movement is our collective responsibility."
"This movement is like our campaign says - bigger than us and coming together showcases that," Owokoniran said. "Because the movement is not over, there are still changes and reform that needs to be made for the betterment of society. We will not stay silent and hope for a better future but take action to ensure one."
Smith noted that as a person with privilege, she will never be able to understand the struggles of being black in America, but knows it is her responsibility to educate herself, work every day to actively be antiracist and continue to support the black community.
"As we all know, the Duke/North Carolina rivalry is very intense and competitive across all sports," Smith said. "I know that we all gained a massive amount of respect for one another by joining forces for a greater purpose. I have no doubt that our games against North Carolina will continue to be fiercely competitive, however I am proud knowing that we will now use our rivalry games as an opportunity to shed light on the fact that there are some things that are bigger than the rivalry and bigger than volleyball. Fighting for racial justice and equality is undoubtably one of those things."
The fight for equality is far from over, and Duke and North Carolina have challenged several rivalry programs around the country to stand together in the fight. Florida/Florida State, USC/Stanford, Louisville/Kentucky and Texas/Texas A&M … you all are up next.
"Our efforts will not end with just this video," Smith said. "Our two programs are committed to taking action within our Durham and Chapel Hill communities. Both together, and individually, our teams plan to host peaceful protests, support black owned businesses, lend our platform to NC Central and continue to educate ourselves on systemic racism. The fight is far from being won, but both Duke and North Carolina volleyball are committed to being part of the change, no matter how long it takes."
#GoDuke
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