Tabe fills key role for Lady Wildcats

El Dorado's Daisy Tabe goes up for a kill in action against Hot Springs Lakeside. Tabe has battled back from two knee surgeries to become an important member of this year's team.
El Dorado's Daisy Tabe goes up for a kill in action against Hot Springs Lakeside. Tabe has battled back from two knee surgeries to become an important member of this year's team.

El Dorado volleyball coach Amber Reynolds described Daisy Tabe as sort of the “mom” on the team. A natural leader, Tabe probably has more life experiences than the average high school senior.

“Off the court, she’s almost like the mom,” said Reynolds. “She makes sure everybody is where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there. She’s probably the first person that notices if somebody is off that day.

“She is the person that keeps the energy where it needs to be. She has a way of being able to talk to each girl to where she can motivate them without emotions being involved. She’s definitely my strong motivator on the court.”

Tabe would love for her story as a student-athlete to have a happy ending. Because, the middle was rough.

The 5-foot-8 middle blocker tore her knee up as an eighth grader at West Side Christian. She never played again for the Lady Warriors, eventually transferring to El Dorado after a year of home-schooling. Tabe didn’t get back on the court until her 11th grade year with the Lady Wildcats.

“I never played (at West Side) again because, well, I got injured. And then, those two years, it was a very long recovery process. And then, my family and I made the decision to home school so I didn’t go back to school. As well, it was around COVID, when COVID hit and all the schools were shutting down so no one was really in school anyway,” said Tabe, who described her initial injury.

“I tore everything in my knee - my ACL, my lateral meniscus, my medial meniscus. I bruised my bone - everything was a mess.

“I had two surgeries so it was a long time. The first surgery, it didn’t necessarily do everything it was supposed to do. My knee started locking up again. So they just needed to go back in there and fix whatever it was. My knee would get stuck, basically, and that wasn’t good so they said, let’s do it one more time. That second time it stuck.”

Does the knee ever give her problems?

“No, no, no, I’m back to a hundred percent,” she said. “Of course, when you hurt your knee there are knee problems that you have once in awhile. But I can do everything that I could before I was injured. I just have to be more conscious and more careful when I work out and all that good stuff.”

Tabe did home school as a 10th grader and was part-time home school in the 11th grade. She went to El Dorado for AP classes, returned home for her other classes and then went back to school for volleyball.

As for not playing volleyball for those two years, it was a hard time.

“Oh my goodness, it took so much self control. It was really tough because I’d been an athlete since I was like, eight,” she said. “I’ve been always active and doing stuff. So, going from my bed to a wheelchair to crutches and not being able to run or walk was very, very frustrating. It was rough. But, I’m here now so I’m happy.”

Coach Reynolds described Tabe as, “very friendly, very outgoing.” Her cheerful demeanor probably made it easier to find the silver lining during those dark days of recovery and rehabilitation.

“For me, I know this may sound cheesy but I got to focus on other things in my life. I’ve always been really interested in school so I put a lot of my energy into that,” she said. “And, as well as just taking a break off of sports. Sports is super fun but it’s also a very fast-paced life. You’re always busy as an athlete. So, it was nice to take a break and focus on other things. It was nice. I learned other things. I invested myself into learning piano. It was good. That was the positive out of that.

“That’s what my mom taught me. She said, let’s find a positive in this because it is rough.”

On the court, Tabe has been one of El Dorado’s most consistent players. Reynolds said she’s one of only three or four girls capable of playing front row or back row.

“I know if she’s going to get the ball, she’s going to do something with it,” Reynolds said. “It might not be a kill. Sometimes we just need that play that’s going to keep us alive to be able to reset. She’s a go-to person for that.”

Tabe, whose older brother Stephfan Tabe plays basketball at the University of the Ozarks, said this season has been worth the wait and all the rehab. The Lady Wildcats snapped a two-year losing streak and look to be competitive in conference play.

Thanks, Mom.

“She makes sure we’re all where we’re supposed to be,” Reynolds said. “She keeps the talking going. She has no problem with stepping out there by herself to get the energy back. She’s very vital. Whether she’s in the game or on the bench, she makes sure we’re being our best.”

Tabe laughed when she heard her coach’s description of her.

“She does call me the mom of the team. I love all the girls. Being able to be someone they can talk to, especially when we need to get our head ready for the game, it’s really nice,” she said. “We’re teenaged girls, you know? There’s always something going on. It’s nice to be able to talk about things on the court and things not on the court. Hopefully, I help. I think I help. I hope I relieve some of that stress and I’m someone they feel comfortable with. That’s what I hope I’m giving off.”

Perhaps Tabe’s personal tribulations have made her more nurturing to others? 

“I suppose so,” she considered after pondering the question. “I just really like to be there when someone needs to talk. You never know what’s going on in someone’s life. As an athlete, you have to be able to put your life aside and play a game to be there for your team. That’s not the easiest thing so knowing your team is there for you when you want to talk and is there for you to bring your energy up is so important to me. At the end of the day, it’s way more than just a game. It’s like a connection you have with your team.”

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