Killing it on and off the floor

Explosive and passionate, Julia Zolnosky leaves a mark on the heart of the women’s volleyball team.

Arianna Valenzuela, Reporter

Senior outside hitter Julia Zolnosky has left a memorable mark on the Hamline University’s women’s volleyball team. Not only is she involved athletically, Zolnosky is one of those students who is involved academically and seeks to pursue a career she desires in order to be successful.

“For a student-athlete to be able to exist prominently in both worlds, the academic world and also in the athletic world, that speaks words and words,” Hamline women’s volleyball head coach Rebecca Egan said. “Julia Zolnosky is someone that definitely has both sides to her. “A lot of our student-athletes are involved in a lot other of things, it just doesn’t get touted as much because we usually look at someone as an athlete or we look at them as an academics-only student,” she said.

This year in the first conference match at Hamline against Carleton, Zolnosky made positive strides which was a major turning point for the team.

“Julia ended up having 12 kills and 30 swings and on top of that, her air was so minimal, which was even more outstanding,” Egan said. “She ended up hitting .267, which is one of the highest hitting percentages that she’s had in her career here at Hamline. It was a turning point in regards to that consistency that she has found and she has owned that since then. She really understands the game to where she knows now how much impact that her getting in her positive points for our team has.”

She has been a volleyball athlete throughout her four years in high school and is currently in her fourth year in her athletic career at Hamline. Hamline, along with Augsburg University and Gustavus University, recruited Zolnosky to be a part of the women’s volleyball team when she was a senior in high school. The coaches saw potential and acknowledged her impressive skills on the volleyball court.

“Julia is definitely one of the most explosive athletes that I have coached and with her, I would use the analogy of – she might be little but she is fierce,” Egan said.

“She’s a tiny little body but she is so explosive; she jumps [as] high anyone that I have ever coached and can just unleash on the volleyball and I feel that over the last four years she’s learned to reign that in and utilize it consistently.”

When asked why she chose Hamline over any other school, Zolnosky explained she fell in love with the campus, the community, the location and how fortunate she felt to have volleyball and the love for the campus mix into her decision.

“What made me choose Hamline was the team was really great when I came and visited,” Zolnosky said. “The campus was so open and comforting and welcoming that it was an easy decision once I came here for my visits rather than the other schools.”

Ever since Zolnosky was a ten-year-old, she had a deep ardor for volleyball.

“My older sister played volleyball, and I wanted to play what she played because I looked up to her so I started when I was ten, and it’s been a great experience ever since,” Zolnosky said.

According to Egan, Zolnosky brings a lot to the table with her intangibles; characteristics which are needed in volleyball in order to have a cohesive team. Zolnosky has always looked out for her teammates,  making sure the team is in a good spot, and brings a positive spin even if things are not going so well.

“She’s definitely that voice you hear in the gym,” Egan said. “Even during practice or a match, or whether it’s our servant pass prior to the match or match preparation stuff, that’s the voice you hear. She has brought a passion to our roster that we would be missing without her.”

Not only is Zolnosky an explosive athlete, she is passionate about teaching. Zolnosky is majoring in Elementary Education and Religion.

This January, Zolnosky will be graduating and spreading her wings in her career. Zolnosky is passionate about teaching and wants to educate children as much as she can. She has been committed to working with her student teaching in order to gain interpersonal growth experience.

“I am student teaching in the spring and I will be applying to be a teacher come summer. So I hopefully am teaching in a year, next fall,” Zolnosky said. “I am interested in being an educator because I want to help children learn and reach their full potential.”

Zolnosky is deeply involved with the Hamline community and has written her mark into Hamline’s history books.

“Julia loves to be involved across campus as well as in our athletic world,” Egan said. “She is going to be an educator once she graduates from here. She is working on her student teaching, and I think that is something that just tells you how far she’s going to go with the fact that she can be successful in both areas.”

The Pipers volleyball team next takes the court tonight at 7 p.m. in St. Joseph, MN against St. Benedict.