Women's Volleyball | 10/6/2016 12:00:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY — RIT women's volleyball standout Anna Valentine (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) traveled under 10 miles from Pittsford to RIT following high school, but she's had a long journey since making that trip as an incoming freshman just under four years ago.
 
She came to RIT and was a key contributor on the volleyball and softball teams during her freshman year in 2013-14, but during that first year Valentine slightly tore her rotator cuff and had to have surgery. That forced her to miss the entire 2014 volleyball season. Valentine was unable to pitch at the same level with her injured shoulder, so she sat out the 2015 season and ultimately decided to stop playing softball.
 
"Everything suddenly hurt all the time," said Valentine, an outside hitter. "It hurt to run, it hurt to play anything. So that's when I knew it started to get bad."
 
Valentine was still a part of the volleyball team during the 2014 season, but commented that it was not the same as playing. She practiced with the team, before surgery, but could not compete in matches. After the surgery, Valentine was there on the sidelines supporting her teammates, and the team was also there supporting her in recovery.
 
"It was hard because I was practicing and doing everything with the team, but I wasn't playing. It was a really weird feeling and hard to deal with that sometimes," said Valentine. "But after surgery, the whole team was really supportive of me and that helped me a lot."
 
Valentine also had to make changes on the academic side. Following surgery, she had to take a week off from school, and upon returning to classes, she was in a sling on her dominant side — which made taking notes in class very difficult.
 
As a packaging science major, Valentine will graduate in May 2017 with a bachelor's degree. Valentine is currently looking for co-ops and jobs locally and at Hasbro, where she previously worked, and she could still return to the Tigers in 2017.
 
"She's probably one of our best academic students," Lodes said. "Her whole life is structured and centered around work ethic and commitment. Anna is a really fine example of what we'd like our student-athletes to be."
 
Valentine returned for the 2015 season, where she competed in 37 of the team's 40 matches, recording 48 kills and 160 digs. Lodes helped work Valentine back into the regular routine, so she sometimes played only one or two sets during a match to stay rested.
 
"The scariest thing was overcoming the whole fear of it hurting, as it was always in the back of my mind," said Valentine. "I came into this season wanting to swing my hardest and give it my all, and I haven't had any shoulder pain, which is amazing."
 
Valentine is a co-captain and ranks second on the team in kills (151) and digs (201). She has also dished out 57 assists on the year as a hitter, which Lodes said alludes to one of her best qualities: versatility.
 
"Last year she had to work back into it, but this year she's back to herself," said Lodes. "She's one of our hardest workers."
 
Co-captain Sarah Szybist (Colorado Springs, CO/Ramstein) and Lodes said that having Valentine fully healthy elevates not only the play of the team, but also the energy level of the squad.
 
"It shows a lot of hard work and determination to come back. I'm proud of her for doing that and working so hard to come back and play at the same level again," said Szybist, a senior outside hitter who has played with Valentine during all four of their years at RIT. "Having her on the court being able to play, being able to play as well as she has been, it's done wonders for our energy and how we play together and having that team chemistry on the court."

RIT is currently 13-9 overall and 6-2 in Liberty League play, and currently on the push to claim its first ever Liberty League title. The Tigers head to Potsdam and Canton this weekend to compete in four conference matchups on Friday and Saturday.