Sophomore Grace Nelson is a powerhouse on and off of the court. As a first-year last season, she started all 38 matches, notched 380 kills — the second-highest on the team — 240 digs and 63 service aces. She was also named American Volleyball College Association Freshman of the Year, All-Region and Second Team All-American, University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year, Second Team All-UAA and UAA Athlete of the Week in November.
She plans to transfer from Liberal Studies into Sports Management and Business Studies in the School of Professional Studies. Despite her packed days of classes and training, she spoke to WSN about her collegiate volleyball career so far and her hopes for her second season with the Violets.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
WSN: Did volleyball impact your school choice?
Nelson: I started in fifth grade — loved it — and just kept playing since then, so I knew I wanted to play in college. Academics came first, but I knew I wanted the level of volleyball to still be intense.
It did affect what I chose, and this is such a great community. I was totally open to Division III, and I’m glad that our program takes it seriously. We’ve had a great couple of years recently.
WSN: How do you balance school and volleyball?
Nelson: I would say it’s really similar to when I played club in high school timewise, and in college, you definitely have a lot more freedom with your schedule. The hard part is more away tournaments and postseason, because when we’re NCAA, we find out we’re missing three days of school like two days before, so it can be a little tough.
I communicate with my teachers, letting them know early on in the year that I’m on a team — they’re usually really understanding. Our coach is really understanding, so we do proctor tests and other makeup work.
WSN: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced since coming to NYU?
Nelson: The biggest challenge is just the atmosphere of New York — living in a really big city at a really young age. It’s really cool, but also a big learning curve. It helped that I had the team to come into. It was like a premade group to help me find my people. So that was really nice, and the community and the girls are fantastic.
WSN: What are your goals for the team this season?
Nelson: As a team, I want us to work on communication, but also just work on learning each other’s tendencies and learning to play with one another. We need to tell each other what we need from one another, which we’ve been good at so far this season.
On the court, I definitely want to win UAA again. I would really like to make it to the Final Four, at least in the NCAA tournament.
WSN: Personal goals?
Nelson: I would say it is to stay consistent with my playing. I feel like sometimes I get really up and down with my errors. Off the court, I would say I want to branch out more and try and explore different parts of New York. I want to meet more people and different communities here, because in-season, it’s just a little hard with limited free time. But I feel like having a better footing this year as a sophomore will be better.
Contact Sidney Snider at [email protected].
