By Alyssa Lombardo
Full of thrills and roars, the volleyball team circles up into a group huddle, chanting the university’s name before the start of every game. They scream their chorus for everyone on and off the court to hear—the rival team, families, and friends. Their bodies rage with confidence and yearning, a desire to perform well, a desire to win. When asked how a victory feels, Zoe Bozzay, a sophomore at Western New England University who has been playing the game for two years, said, “Everyone is on cloud nine. There is never a glum person in the room.”
A sport that started as a forced obligation became a passion Bozzay can’t live without. She first started playing volleyball at age ten because her mother wanted her to transition into a new sport with an entirely different focus. She was used to individual sports such as gymnastics, tennis, and swimming.
The purpose of the change from these sports to volleyball was for Bozzay to take her independent skills and use them in a team sport. Volleyball may have started as a mandatory task for her, but now she appreciates her mother for introducing her to the sport and contributing to her adoration.
Bozzay looks up to her mother as a role model, claiming that she wouldn’t have gotten to where she is in life without her. “My mom is the greatest human to ever exist,” Bozzay told me. “She grew up with absolutely nothing coming from Puerto Rico and will do anything for her kids. She wants me to have the best opportunities because she didn’t have any.”
Bozzay had incredible success and experience in volleyball prior to becoming a Golden Bear. She played in one of the top volleyball clubs in the United States, the Wave Volleyball Club in Del Mar, California. The transition from California to the northeast was one Bozzay accepted head-on. She wanted to explore her life, options, and love for volleyball on the other side of the country. While WNE has provided her with multiple opportunities, she finds herself feeling homesick every now and then. Her fallback when she is in this mood is volleyball. “Volleyball keeps the brain busy, and without it, I might go crazy.”
Bozzay is a defensive specialist and designated server for WNE’s volleyball team. She also has the title of being one of the best servers in the entire volleyball league. She describes the life of a student-athlete, especially while volleyball is in season, as a big commitment. She can spend up to three hours on practice days, spending thirty minutes with her team to set up and devoting the other two-and-a-half hours to physically training herself for the game. Her only day off is on Sunday. She also loves lifting because there is nothing more rewarding than watching her muscles grow with her own eyes, especially as a female athlete.
Being an athlete gives Bozzay the opportunity to develop her time management skills and handle the stress that comes with performance—whether it is on the court, serving the ball, or studying towards her major, business analytics, in order to pursue a career as a data scientist. Regarding the stress of a student-athlete and how she maintains a balance, she said, “I honestly just deal with it because stress never stops.” Despite the stress, volleyball remains Bozzay’s true source of happiness and an essential piece of her life. If the stress does stop, it’s when she is on the court. Volleyball is her greatest escape, having the power to rid her of the combined stresses that come from academic and work life.
This doesn’t mean that Bozzay has not experienced struggles while playing the game. When asked what her most memorable memory was while on the court, she stated, “It was actually one I did bad in. I got hit so many times and I remember feeling awful during the game. I wanted to be taken out.” The game was against Wheaton College, and Bozzay described her opponent as having a “wicked fast swing” that was difficult to keep up with. Despite the challenge, Bozzay remained in the game in hopes of performing her best and benefitting her team.
Bozzay described herself as a player who has two opposing sides to her: a lack of recognition of her own strength while simultaneously acting as the ray of sunshine that motivates her fellow teammates. When asked what she thinks she can improve on, she said, “My mental strength. I need to be more positive to myself. All of my low points are mental because it’s so easy to get in my own head or for negative comments to get me.”
Meanwhile, she picks her teammates up after any loss. “I’m probably one of the few people that still is positive because I don’t like seeing my teammates upset. I’m the first to go up to my teammates and compliment them for all the good they accomplished, no matter the outcome.” One of her teammates and best friends, Isabella (Bella) Procida, confirms Bozzay’s radiance on and off the court. “She is an amazing teammate and she is always there to help me improve,”
Procida said. “As a player, Zoe is someone you aspire to be friends with. When I am feeling down, she’s always there to pick me back up. She is a light and a beautiful person inside and out.”
Without her team, Bozzay wouldn’t have been able to crawl out of her reserved shell and make unbreakable bonds. She also learned the value of communication and teamwork, two important lessons she can use outside of athletics. As Bozzay’s volleyball journey continues, she’ll keep lighting the path forward for herself and her team.
