Caitlin Zlabek '20 Recruiting Profile

Growing up, my parents exposed me to many sports, such as basketball, tennis, soccer, golf, and swimming. But throughout the years, I never found the passion and the family bond feeling I get when in a competitive match with my volleyball teams. My favorite part about volleyball is that success will not happen with one great player. It takes the whole team, working together to make each other better and succeed. The setter position enables everyone to play their best, and I truly enjoy that role.

For the 2019 club season, I played up a year as the starting setter in a 5-1 offense with Club Synergy 18s-1. Prior to this, I played club volleyball five consecutive years as a setter and right side for V-Hawk Xtreme at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. I am one of the setters in our 6-2 system in our Division 1 high school. In 2017, I advanced to the final selection camp for our state's Badger Regional High-Performance International Team as a setter. I have made great strides technically with my setting skills the past year.

In school, I currently have a 3.95 GPA, near the top of my class academically. I value my education and was looking for a school to both play volleyball and get an excellent education, both of which will help me succeed after college.

Personally, I am easy-going, fun, coachable, and hard working. I stay positive and support my team when things are difficult. I critically watch instructional videos, analyze game film, and read leadership material to develop my volleyball IQ. I value strength and agility training, participating in CrossFit high school athlete classes, jump workouts, or sprint workouts several days of the week in the offseason.

In May 2019, I committed to play volleyball at Bethel University in Mishawaka, Indiana.