Tyler Korponai – Special to the Southern News
If you know of Nicole Hauser you’ll know that she’s a sophomore outside hitter for the Southern Owls’ volleyball team. You may also know some of her stats: 2.86 points per set, 2.65 kills per set, .12 aces per set. However, this list of statistics surrounding her performance could go on. What you may not know is that sports and coaching runs in the family.
“Both my parents are coaches,” said Hauser. “That’s why I started volleyball because my mom was a volleyball coach; I started when I was young.”
Playing for a young team that’s still shaping its dynamics and future there has been some issues.
“We have a tendency,” said head coach Lisa Barbaro after Tuesday’s win against Assumption College. “The last couple of matches to really come out and really fly in the first set and then lose energy as we go on to other sets and it started to kind of happen tonight. But you know the difference was they were able to stay strong pick themselves up fight through and pull out the match.”
Hauser is set to take the stage as she has come to the front to help out.
“Nicky has really done a great job for us,” said Barbaro. “The last two matches we had a couple of key starters who have been out with injuries and Nicky’s been playing outside all season. So we moved her over to the right side and she’s really stepped up the past two games to really help our team.”
Not only is the coaching staff impressed with her performance, but fellow teammates share the view also.
“Nicky has multiple roles,” said teammate Morgan Carman. “Last year she was a setter. This year she is an outside. But one of ours setters is injured so she’s come back and came back to play and help out where we need her, her hitting is incredible.”
With this trend of positive feedback about her performance on the field it’s easy to not notice the components of an athlete’s life off the court. And with Hauser they’re numerous.
“I play the piano all the time,” said Hauser. “I started playing when I was four-years-old and I go to Earl Hall like once a week to play, so not many people know that.”
Furthermore, Hauser is working hard not only on the court and in the practice spaces, but also in the class room.
“Right now my major is biology and I hope to go to optometry school after this so we’ll see how that goes,” said Hauser.
Hauser is making a very real impact for the Owls on the court. In fact, she was added to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll. Her contributions are helping push the team forward. This can been seen as the culmination of smoother play and a more efficient team.
“I think we are doing better together,” said Carman. “We have a lot of new people, we have 10 new people, eight returners, and most of our starters are new. It’s just the experience of working together and playing together on the court.”
With so much success it’s interesting to see what Hauser’s role will be with the team. In the meantime, she is more concerned with her own performance and if any good comes as a byproduct of that personal effort then all the better.
“I hope that I lead by example,” said Hauser. “So underclassmen can look up to me and see that I am working hard and that I am trying to be successful (and just) keep myself pushing forward all the time.
Photo Credit: Tyler Korponai
