Shuofei Xu '23 Recruiting Profile

I am Shuofei (Sophie) Xu, and I can't express why I love playing volleyball so much. Maybe it's the technicality and team spirit that sets it apart from any other sport. My team actually came up with the word "Sophie positivity" while playing because I just seem like I'm having so much fun. I'm not sure what I want to pursue academically yet, but I definitely want to and will play volleyball in the future, hopefully for a very long time!!

My friends and I started our primary school volleyball program in 4th grade, where our only goal was to get the ball over the next. Therefore I still have this great passing skill from only passing for two whole years! Then as I transferred schools I skipped almost two years, until I joined our school varsity team in the end of my 7th grade and played till today. I played middle for 3 years, where I stayed in the back row for defense and loved it. The fast moving speed and quick reaction skills suited me very well. Until 2021 fall season,  my coach asked me to play front row outside hitter and back row setter because he thought I would be more helpful there, with still unstable passes and such. Surprisingly, I had so much fun again and achieved MVP all season. 

This 2021 summer I spent it all playing volleyball!! My friends and I would rent a cheap court in the suburban parts of Shanghai and ask out other school teams to play with us. The subway ride there would take me 1.5hours, and with 4 hours of playing, my whole day was dedicated to volleyball. We did this 3-4 times a week, and wholeheartedly speaking, playing volleyball with these people was the best summer experience I've had.