This week’s featured Cyclone, junior volleyball player Courtney Jacobson, can serve up some serious moves in the court, which she proved last week as Mills College’s volleyball team went head-to-head with some competitive teams at the Cal Lutheran Tournament in Southern California.
At the tournament this past weekend, Jacobson truly stepped up with a last minute position change to “accommodate a vacancy in the line-up” stated Elese Lesback, Mills’ Associate Director of Athletics. Jacobson “stepped up and went from an Outside Hitter to Middle Blocker “ said Lesback, “with only a week notice.” Even though she falls literally a little short as she stands at 5’7” compared to her Middle Blocker counterparts who generally average at 6’ she held her ground. Her stats from this weekend’s game included 6 kills meaning successful, legal point-scoring spike attack from 29 swings. She also managed to block 7 times as well as 3 assists.
Much of Jacobson’s success can be attributed to her flexibility and swiftness.
“I’ve always been moved around, but I adapt pretty easily,” she said.
Her flexibility came as an aid to the team and her attitude and performance under pressure exemplified the driven ethos of the Mills Volleyball team.
With her ability to be a versatile athlete on the field, her dedication is the same when she hits the books. Her heavy-hitting academic schedule includes studying both Biology and Psychology, as she has been always fascinated by the human psyche. On top of all this she manages to attend ten hours of volleyball practice a week, held in the mornings from 6 to 8 am.
Hailing from Sacramento, Jacobson has been playing volleyball for ten years. Jacobson started her volleyball career at Mills in her sophomore year and since then she’s been inseparable from the sport.
She said, “I balance science work and early volleyball practices by taking many naps and getting to sleep as early as I can.”
She also added that she “felt as though something was missing when only taking academic classes” during her first year and it clicked that she need volleyball in her life once again.
One of the things Jacobson values the most about the team is its family-like community. She said there is a bond between players and returning players.
Despite its close-nit community, Jacobson said she wants to reach out more to her fellow classmates.
“To be more social and vocal with my teammates,” she said about her goals for the future with the volleyball team. “I just have a really quiet and shy personality.”
