There are two people.

One is quiet and, at times, seems timid. She’s conservative. She’s nervous.

The other is a leader. She’s aggressive, reckless and confident. She exudes confidence, and she’s comfortable.

These two people are the same: Maren Crabtree.

Crabtree, the freshman setter for the Panther volleyball team, transforms from the quiet and nervous person she is off the volleyball court to the fiery, assured leader of a team that won a share of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in her first season.

“I’m like two different people,” she said, “how I am away from volleyball and how I am on the court.”

Crabtree came to Eastern from Wapanhani High School in Muncie, Ind. After graduating as part of a 74-person class, she knew everything she was used to, from her teammates to her daily routine, would drastically change.

In February 2004, Crabtree made her first visit to Eastern’s campus, where she met the volleyball team for the first time. She signed her letter of intent two weeks later.

All summer, she felt confident in her decision, but as move-in day approached, she said her confidence began to wane.

“I felt like I fit in on my visit, but that’s just one day,” she said. “So, I was really nervous right away when I got here, and I didn’t really talk at all.”

Sophomore outside hitter Mary Welch hosted Crabtree during her recruiting visit. Welch said Crabtree’s quiet nature didn’t surprise her at first.

“She was quiet but recruits are always quiet because you’re around twelve girls you don’t know,” Welch said. “I was quiet on my visit.”

However, once practices began, Welch didn’t see the silence fade.

“When she came to our first practices, I couldn’t believe she really was that quiet, like almost painfully quiet,” Welch said.

Crabtree said she kept to herself through the preseason practices and up until the team’s first matches of this season, a tournament hosted by Maine.

As Crabtree stepped on the court for the first time in her collegiate career, she had a big surprise for her teammates, who had no idea what she was like in competition.

“I’m the loudest one,” Crabtree said. “I let go, and I don’t care about anything.”

Welch, who plays in the front row with Crabtree and junior middle blocker Megan Kennedy, said she remembers the first time she saw this side of Crabtree up close.

“Megan had this huge kill and I went to give her a high five,” Welch said. “Then, out of nowhere, she just went crazy and was yelling.

“Megan and I just looked at each other and started laughing like, ‘Where did this come from?'”

Crabtree’s on-court enthusiasm is easily seen. The hesitation and shyness are replaced by cheering and bold and reckless play.

“Playing is what I love to do, and it’s a place where I get to be someone else,” Crabtree said. “I don’t hold back.”

Panther head coach Brenda Winkeler said she’s tried to keep Crabtree from throwing herself at balls, even if they’re headed right at the bench. And while each dive makes her nervous, Winkeler said Crabtree’s effort is a necessary component of her team’s success.

“Every day, every match, if we need anything, she’ll dive after a ball. She’ll run into anything or throw herself on the floor to lead this team.”

And Welch said Crabtree is one of the first players to greet her after a nice play.

“She loves cheering for other people, but when she does something good, she’ll just act like it was expected,” Welch said.

After the Panthers score a point off of a kill, a block, or an ace, Crabtree often will explode into an instant celebration filled with fist pumps, quick jumps and celebratory cries – all erupting as if they were spring-loaded.

“When she gets out on the court, she’s so spastic,” Welch said.

Crabtree’s contradicting personalities don’t fit the traditional mold of a setter, Winkeler said.

“Usually, off of the court, setters are the loudest people on the team,” Winkeler said. “A lot of people want a setter who has a very fiery personality – all different from what you see when you look and talk to her.”

Winkeler said coaches look for these types of qualities in a setter’s personality because the position calls for a player who can run the offense and give the impression of a calming confidence.

While a person walking down the street wouldn’t realize Crabtree has these qualities, Winkeler said, Crabtree’s performance this season speaks louder than any words.

Crabtree was named the OVC Freshman of the Year after leading the conference in assists, and her 13.93 assists-per-game average is the ninth highest in Division I and the top average for a freshman. Crabtree also holds Eastern’s freshman assist record.

And as she has settled into her new surroundings, Crabtree said she has begun to open up more.

Crabtree said the qualities of a great setter include being vocal, confident and aggressive.

“A lot of the qualities are what I’m not,” she said. “I’m kind of quiet.”

But her performance and persona on the court have been impossible to ignore.

Panther opponents have heard the noise she’s made, and Winkeler said, future foes will hear it too.