From opposite sides of the world, united at LCCC

Volleyball athletes, one from Turkey and one from Colorado, form lifelong bond

One grew up on Colorado’s Front Range. The other came to Cheyenne from İzmir, Turkey. At Laramie County Community College, Zoe Bauer and Lea Süsoy quickly became inseparable teammates, roommates and friends. 

In competition, the women play complementary roles. Lea said Zoe is strong, both mentally and physically, showing power and resolve in her training and in her kills on the court. Zoe said Lea, on the other hand, is effortless in how she exhibits her skills.  

“When Lea’s on the court, it looks like nothing in the world bothers her — she’s so confident,” Zoe said. “She carries herself so well, like it’s effortless.”  

Athletes’ lives are unique to those of their peers in many ways, Zoe and Lea agreed. Their shared commitments in volleyball mean they share virtually every aspect of their lives.  

Meeting one another developed in stages, but before long, the two volleyball players were doing almost everything side by side. Training sessions, study time, meals and even grocery runs became shared routines for Zoe and Lea, whose friendship grew as quickly off the court as their chemistry did on it.  

Finding common ground 

Their friendship began even before they arrived in Cheyenne, but it wasn’t clear to Lea whether she could make relationships with her American teammates work. As a volleyball competitor in Turkey for almost a decade, Lea wanted to compete at a higher level in the U.S. Her only concern, she said, was the language barrier.  

“I did not know English at all,” Lea said in February 2026 at LCCC. “I knew, ‘How are you’ and ‘thank you,’ but I couldn’t complete a sentence. I was sweating because I didn’t want to be that person who, in every conversation, asks ‘Oh what does that mean?’ So, I was scared that I was not going to be able to talk to them.”  

Lea found, however, that Zoe and the other teammates were patient and understanding, and probably a bit nervous about meeting new people themselves. Video calls became social messages, and before long, the athletes were having fun and supporting one another.  

During early conversations with the team before the season, Zoe and Lea discovered an unexpected connection that helped spark their early bond. 

“When we first started talking before the season, we realized we both had German backgrounds,” Lea said. “That was something we connected on right away.” 

The two found another mutual understanding in an all-too-common challenge for athletes: injury.  In February, Zoe was recovering from knee surgery in her hometown of Windsor, Colorado. An injury to the other knee derailed her high school volleyball track just a few years earlier. 

Lea said she knows what her friend is going through and can be there to support her. It’s a contrast to playing in Turkey, where Lea said there’s less compassion for injuries, with expectations that athletes play through the pain. At LCCC, and with Zoe, Lea said she knows her teammates will keep an eye on each other.  

“Zoe and I became so close that, if something is wrong with either of us, we know and we go to the athletic trainer,” Lea said. “That connection is really important for me.”  

Zoe and Lea talked all throughout summer in 2026.  

“She became one of my best friends,” Zoe said.  

Lea was rooming by herself in the residence hall in Fall 2025 after her previous roommate moved. Closely bonded with Zoe, Lea started lobbying to get Zoe as her new roommate. 

“I was so happy when coach asked me, ‘Is Zoe moving in?’” Lea said. “I got the message over winter break and was like, ‘Ok, I’m not alone anymore.’”  

The volleyball athletes at LCCC, including Lea and Zoe, share pretty much everything in their lives. They train together; they study together; they compete together; they share holidays; they share nearly every meal; they rise and fall and struggle and thrive, always together.  

Being on a college sports team requires a lot of athletes. When it comes to teammates, Zoe said the relationships become remarkably deep.  

“You’re kind of forced at first — you don’t have a choice who your teammates are,” Zoe said. “But once you make those connections, you find you love these people on a different level. They’re not just your teammates; they’re your family.”  

It’s not lost on Zoe and Lea that their time together at LCCC is close to the end.  

“It’s hard with the international girls — we’re not sure where they’ll end up going,” Zoe said.  

But for today, Zoe said they’re living in the moment, enjoying those little things that can become routine. Lea said she believes that their time at LCCC won’t be the end for their friendship.  

“We’re trying not to be sad about it, but it is sad,” she said. “But everything happens for a reason. I want to say that we’ll cross paths again.”  

Like she does on the volleyball court, Lea said she’ll look to her friend Zoe for the strength.  

“Zoe always knows how to handle stuff,” Lea said.