Georgia Mullins and Isabella Vasquez's experience as Colorado College student-athletes prepared them well for the challenge of a new school and Division I women's volleyball.

Mullins will play for the University of Missouri-Kansas City this fall and complete her prerequisites for UMKC's physician assistant graduate program. Vasquez joined the University of Denver and its Real Estate and the Built Environment master's program.

Both are thankful for their time in CC's challenging academic and athletic environment.

"My growth under the leadership of the CC volleyball program felt exponential," said Vasquez, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter. "The competitive culture and high expectations set forth certainly prepared me well to compete at the D1 level. In my upperclassmen years it felt as though my improvement as a volleyball player continued to grow and did not simply remain stagnant. I am so excited for all the new opportunities to grow as a player and a person through the DU volleyball program!"

"Although D3, I still consider CC volleyball to be very high level," said Mullins, a 5-11 middle hitter. "The atmosphere closely resembles that of a D1 program. I got to play alongside so many incredible players who inspired me to progress my own game."

The NCAA granted a fifth year of eligibility to any student-athlete competing during the pandemic while giving athletes a chance to transfer without sitting out a year. Many seized the opportunity to extend their playing career at their current school or elsewhere. 

Some coaches take advantage by filling roles with high-caliber, character players. Considering their credentials, adding Mullins and Vasquez must have been an easy choice.
Mullins joined an elite group of Tiger volleyball players last season. She garnered first-team D3 All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association while becoming the 11^th Tiger to recorded at least 1,000 kills in her career. That included back-to-back Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors and 11 league player of the week honors, second all time in the SCAC.

This past season, Mullins ranked 12^th nationwide in Division III at 4.86 points per set, 29^th in kills (3.97) and 46^th with a .346 hitting percentage. Earlier this year, the league
academic honoree was recognized by the Sportswomen of Colorado for her accomplishments in her sport.

Despite losing nearly a season's worth of matches to a knee injury and then COVID, Vasquez, a four-time SCAC academic honoree, finished her career with 819 kills and 746 digs, and became one of only 17 Tigers to record 700 or more in each statistic.

The Palmer High School (Colorado Springs) graduate used that down time to volunteer with Partners in Housing, an organization that aids the homeless and with TESSA, which offers confidential support and services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their children. Her efforts earned her SCAC Character & Community Female Student-Athlete of the Week honors her senior season.

Mullins and Vasquez faced difficult decisions. Both were looking for the right school that included an opportunity to extend their playing careers.
The Tigers coaches were there to help.

"At (that) point, I had not considered the idea of using my fifth year (at CC) or playing volleyball for DU," Vasquez said. "When I spoke with the coaching staff at CC (Sharon Dingman and Chad Koenegstein) they were extremely supportive of my goal to go to grad school. They also pushed me to reach out to the coaches — because what was the worst that could happen? They say no, and I still get to go to grad school! So Chad and I began working on a highlight video and sent it over to the DU coaching staff — the rest is history!" 

The jump from D3 to D1 is considerable as is school life without the Block Plan.

"Coach expectations, program traditions, and volleyball systems vary across all NCAA volleyball programs," Vasquez said. "There is a leap between D3 to D1, some to due simply with different NCAA restrictions and other unregulated variables (such as taller frontline players). One of the biggest differences so far between CC and D1 is having to juggle more than one course schedule alongside the volleyball time expectations. I dove into three summer courses at DU (what is considered a full load for my program), and it has been a learning curve with scheduling my days." 

The nationally ranked Tigers made their 23^rd NCAA DIII tournament last fall, a streak interrupted only by the cancellation of the 2020 season. The program's proven ability to sign hard-working players and develop them made this possible.

"I was lucky enough to have coaches who believed in my potential," Mullins said. "Coaches (Rick) Swan, Dingman, and Koenegstein all contributed so much to my development as a volleyball player. They provided me with the knowledge, skill set, and opportunities that allowed me to become the player I set out to be, and for that I am very grateful." 

The former CC captains are adjusting to their new program and teammates but feel ready to lead as older players.

"I feel as though I have re-entered freshmen year," Vasquez said. "There is a lot of new things to learn and practice. As for my role, I feel as though my four years of undergrad have prepped me well to be a source of leadership and comfort for younger players." 

"As an older player, I do feel a natural responsibility to be a good leader and role model for the younger players on the team, which I hope to accomplish by being an encouraging, respectful, and hard-working teammate," Mullins said.  

The Kansas native chose UMKC for its well-regarded physician assistant graduate program, building upon her molecular biology degree while using her fifth year to complete prerequisites.  

"Regardless of whether or not I played volleyball, I was going to take an extra year of classes," she said. "Originally, I was content with the idea of focusing on school and putting my volleyball career to rest, but the opportunity in front of me was too special. I had to take advantage of this rare gift of extra eligibility, and I couldn't refuse a chance to play at the highest collegiate level, especially in my hometown."

The two former teammates are looking forward to seeing each other a couple times a year, but it will be as opponents for the first time. UMKC and DU split their Summit League season series last season.