Growing up in a lacrosse-devoted family, senior Brycen Colombo felt pressured to continue the legacy. Instead, he took his own route when he quit lacrosse and signed up for men’s volleyball his freshman year of high school.
“It was evident that I wanted to play lacrosse in middle school, but after my seventh and eighth grade years, I realized that lacrosse really wasn’t my sport and I wanted to give something else a try,” Colombo said. “So one of my buddies and I decided to try volleyball, because why not?”
High schoolers are required to sign up for two seasons of a school-sanctioned sport or take a gym class to earn athletic credit. Colombo was looking to find a new passion as well as earn himself some required credits. Fortunately for him, volleyball was everything he was looking for, and more.
“I found it really clicked for me. It was a really easy sport to pick up and I liked all the intricate details of it. It just kind of skyrocketed from there,” Colombo said.
As Colombo made his way up the volleyball ladder, he had a new goal in mind: play at the collegiate level. Colombo understood there were other athletes who have been playing the game much longer than him, but that didn’t discourage him as he entered the recruiting process.
Colombo “self-recruited” by emailing his name and information out to college coaches late junior year, in an attempt to receive offers. He had little luck as many coaches were finished with their recruiting process already, until the University of Mount Union contacted him.
“That email sparked something in me,” Colombo said. “[I thought] ‘Hey, this dream is still alive. I could still play in college.’”
With a couple other coaches reaching out, he ultimately decided to commit to the University of Mount Union, where he will start as a freshman in the fall of 2025.
Making strides in any sport requires a strong group of coaches to push past limits to achieve goals. Colombo explained how one coach in particular has helped him get to where he is today.
“Coach Annie Kovalesky has probably made the biggest mark on me. She saw something in me,” Colombo said.
During the beginning of his high school volleyball career, Colombo wanted to make the jump to varsity, but his coach had other plans for him.
“I wanted to be a varsity player, but that’s just not how it turned out. [Kovalesky] explained from the get-go, ‘Hey I know you have varsity potential, and you know it, but right now I just need to develop you,’” Colombo said.
Kovalesky decided to leave him on junior varsity A for his junior year and wanted to take things slow and prepare him for varsity, and beyond.
“She made me realize this may not be what I would’ve wanted now but it helped me out in the long run and got me ready for the big stage on varsity,” Colombo said.
The transition from high school to college sports can be a big jump, but Colombo has a personal advantage he hopes to use going forward. Colombo explained how his natural abilities have supported him in his volleyball success.
“Being able to jump high and have a particularly high reach has helped me achieve a lot in volleyball,” Colombo said.
This spring, Colombo will first finish what he started with UA men’s volleyball before heading off to college. With new Head Coach Phil Nagy, Colombo and the men’s volleyball program holds high standards for the coming season.
“We want to win our conference,” Colombo said. “We want to go as far as the district finals and hopefully make an appearance in the state semi-finals.”
Colombo highlighted that the key to their success will be the close-knit and experienced team they’re expecting for the season.
“[The team and I] know each other so well. I think we have this deep connection that’s going to allow us to go far,” Colombo said.
