Sitting Grand Prix 2 – Three-time Paralympian Hall on how volleyball helped her find herself

As a three-time Paralympian with the USA (née Lancaster) – winning two silvers and a bronze from the 2004, 2008 and 2012, the latter in London as captain – the now 36-year-old, originally from Indianapolis, enjoyed a stellar international career. 

It gave her opportunities and life experiences she will always remember – and helped her develop as a person.  

That’s why in 2021, she did not hesitate to form Salisbury Sitting Volleyball in the city where she now lives. Having been a significant beneficiary of the sport herself, she hopes to help others get just as much from it as she has. 

“Everybody’s experience is really personal to them and they all have a unique relationship with their sport,” said Kendra. “For me, it allowed me to grow as a person, because I was very unsure when I was younger. 

“I have a prosthetic left arm, but when I was younger I used to work very hard to pretend that I hadn’t. Playing sport allowed me to come to terms with it. 

“When I was 16 I got put in touch with the USA National team, I went for a try-out and it started from there (playing in her first Paralympics at the age of 17). 

“It’s allowed me to travel to Europe, China and all over the world – places I would have never have gone to otherwise. 

“It really opened up the world for me and I have always felt a lot of gratitude towards the sport and the USA programme I was on at the time.

“So when Ben and I were approached by Richard (Osborne) at South Hants about forming a team, we’d both played for Paralympic teams (Ben for GB). 

“He (Richard) wanted us to consider it as it would enable us to pull in players from further north, who had already played in the Invictus Games, but were struggling to travel down to the South Coast. 

“By then, Ben and I had been playing close to a decade, and it just seemed a nice way to give something back to the sport.” 

Kendra and Ben met at the Egypt Inter-Continental Cup in 2010, with both their respective international teams competing. 

It is a relationship that has flourished both off and on the court, where both play for the Salisbury team in the Volleyball England Sitting Grand Prix series, alongside their duties in running the club. 

Kendra added: “The good thing is we have got a lot of experience in the game between us which we can use to share the responsibilities, as it is a lot of work. 

“We probably wouldn’t do it if we had to do it on our own, as we are both very busy people in our work, but I think we complement each other well. 

“It started off really strongly at Salisbury and we had eight to 10 players regularly, two or three players who were involved with standing, and others who had played in the Invictus Games as well. 

“Since then, we have seen people move away – two or three of them because of military commitments – and others having gone overseas. 

“But we have worked around it, and we are still going strong.” 

Salisbury began the 2023-24 season in Sitting Grand Prix 1 with an encouraging victory over last season’s overall winners the Sitting Bucks, edging to a 25-23, 25-20 victory. 

And while obviously pleased with any wins that come their way, Kendra insists that other things are more important to the team. 

“It’s been good to get back on court (after the summer close season) to bring purpose to what we were doing in our training and practice,” she said. 

“Everyone is improving, which is always a good thing. One player started to come to training towards the end of last season having never touched a volleyball and is now progressing amazingly well. That’s so rewarding to see. 

“As a squad we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Of course, we want to win, but the priority isn’t to win, it’s to enjoy ourselves.”

Check out the Volleyball England social media for updates over the weekend, with full details of results to follow on Monday.