Senior Haidyn Spano takes a deep breath, readying herself for the last round of the match. The crowd cheers, and her teammates strategize around her. She’ll have to give this her all.
This wasn’t her first rodeo though; Spano has been playing for eight years.
“I started playing at this summer camp when I was in fourth grade,” Spano said. “I wanted to try it because my family had always played volleyball.”
Spano is a captain for the Robinson volleyball team in her senior year. Her position is the libero; someone in the back row of the six-person formation who focuses mainly on defense. She recently committed to play at Lynn University, which boasts an extremely formidable division II volleyball program that has won 25 national titles.
Spano says that the element of competition and the challenge of self-improvement are some of her favorite things about the sport, and that they help to motivate her during tough practices or matches.
“It’s just about love for the game,” Spano said. “I always love getting better and I’m a very competitive person, I’m competitive within myself, so I’m always looking for ways to excel.”
She also noted the strong presence of strong female role models within the sport. Volleyball is the fifth most popular women’s sport worldwide, and almost 30% of the people who play are women. This may not sound like a lot, but this actually makes it one of the most equally-balanced sports in terms of gender.
“It’s very popular among women,” Spano said. “So, it’s like all these big, strong women able to compete in this sport. I think that’s great.”
Anyone who wishes to become an athlete in college is forced to work hard and make sacrifices in order to fully commit to their love of their sport, but Spano stresses that it is fully possible to make those dreams a reality.
“If you are committed, if you want to be a competitive athlete, then yes, I will go that route.” Spano said. “But if you aren’t committed, if you aren’t up for that challenge, then you can’t.”
Spano says that even though she’s faced challenges playing volleyball, it has taught her some valuable life lessons, too.
“It has got to be not comparing myself,” Spano said. “We always do this thing where we compare each other, compare ourselves to another person, but really, you’re just trying to get better within yourself.”
