SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Kirstein Sosnowski

There's No Other Way To Finish

Senior middle blocker Kirstein Sosnowski is probably the least experienced senior Bulldog on the 2008 roster but she has made a huge impact on Samford’s success this season.

Sosnowski did not start playing volleyball until her freshman year in high school, unlike her fellow teammates who have been playing since they were eight or nine years old. Before she took up volleyball, she was kicking a soccer ball around outdoors.

“I didn’t start playing volleyball until I was a freshman in high school and I was on the freshman team,” Sosnowski said. “After that, I moved to varsity. I wish I would have started earlier, but I loved it. Basically the coach just said, “Hey, come try out for volleyball and I’m glad he did. I just fell in love with it. Before that, I played soccer. I’m a little tall for soccer.”

The daughter of a Marine who played baseball and participated in track, Sosnowski was destined to become an athlete. However, her mother was a cheerleader who passed a little bit of her “spirit” on to her daughter as well.

Sosnowski is one of the biggest cheerleaders on the team. You can almost hear her encouraging words over the crowd after each point. She cheers on her teammates, whether she is on the court or on the bench, and you can see how each player feeds off of that encouragement from a senior leader.

The senior family studies major is one of two children in her family. She is the older sister to a brother who is a senior in high school who plays basketball but whose passion is music. She says she enjoys being a part of a team with younger girls because it gives her a chance to have younger sisters.

“I’ve always wanted sisters,” Sosnowski said. “I really do feel like I kind of take on the older sister role. I know they look up to me. If they have a bad day, I just talk to them and tell them that I’ve been there too and that they will get through it. I just try to make them smile and let them know they are important and that they are part of the team and that we are always going to be there for them.”

Sosnowski speaks from experience. She came into a situation unlike this year’s freshmen did. With five other newcomers by her side, she joined a team that had not been very successful in recent years and was in a situation in which the freshmen outnumbered the rest of the team. She and her fellow classmen were thrust immediately into the intense game of collegiate volleyball and as a result, had to grow up quickly. The growth process has continued through this year for Sosnowski and her teammates, which is proven by the team’s success.

“With age, you mature more. The same with volleyball I.Q.,” Sosnowski said. “Dex is always talking about volleyball I.Q., and that’s how we are going to beat teams. We have been given this opportunity this year, and honestly, this past year, I feel like I’ve grown the most. My confidence has gotten back to where it used to be. As far as playing goes, there’s just a different feeling because we aren’t so tentative. It’s a different environment completely. It’s back to being competitive and fun, and that’s what I live for.”

Last season, the volleyball team was given the honor of playing the first athletic event in the new Pete Hanna Center. Looking back, it seemed as sort of a sign of the times. The Bulldogs wrapped up their first winning season in a brand new facility and soon a brand new start came for the squad. With a coaching change came continued success and the Bulldogs began setting higher standards than before and setting new records. Sosnowski says the whole experience has been the one thing she will remember most.

“I really liked playing in the Pete Hanna Center for the first time last season, but honestly, my most memorable moment has been this whole season. It’s been such a big turn-around and you know, we couldn’t ask for a better way to go out than like this.”

The 2008 season has definitely been the most successful for the senior middle blocker. She has played in every match for the Bulldogs this season, knocking down 2.61 kills per set while leading the Bulldogs in hitting with a .363 average. She has had 63 total blocks so far this season and is currently tied for fifth on the all-time block assists list for Samford. For the past few weeks, she has also been ranked among the nation’s top 50 in hitting percentage by the NCAA.

The dynamic of the Samford volleyball team is unlike any other. They are a close, knit team. Like a family. When asked why she thought the team was so close and if that contributed to the team’s success, Sosnowski had this to say:

“When Ellen (Samford’s strength and conditioning coach) came here, she kind of changed the mentality of the team. We got a whole lot tougher. We had to be tougher. One thing she said is that you are only as strong as your weakest player. And that really has, in a sense, made us realize that we are a part of a team, even if you are not playing. You are still part of a team and you are a part of our success. I feel like we have been given the opportunity to realize that we can be successful. Our confidence has gone up because we’ve gotten a lot more support. The environment and the people and the chemistry, it’s all there.”

When Sosnowski is done playing, she said she will not be done with the game altogether. She said she is not exactly sure what she wants to do with her family studies degree yet, but she knows that she wants to pursue a master’s degree and coach club volleyball.

When asked how it feels to top off her senior season with such a great season, Sosnowski responded with a resounding, “There is no other way to finish!”

(Kirstein finished her senior year accomplishing probably her biggest goal to date. She earned a place on the All-Conference Second Team and was a part of the 2008 SoCon North Division Championship team.)