Love at First Spike

Meet Venus Wan, four-year varsity player who has smashed PSAL records, de-spike the odds.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Frederik Schutz, Yashna Patel

Issue 4, Volume 113

By Honora Muratori

Name: Venus Wan

Grade: Senior

Height: 5’6”

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Date of Birth: 08/16/2005

1. When and how did you start playing volleyball? How long have you been on the Vixens, the Stuyvesant girls’ varsity volleyball team?

I started playing volleyball in eighth grade with my entire family. One of my cousins ended up joining a club team and started the “Cardozo Dynasty,” where the school won the city championships for five consecutive years. From there, she started coaching volleyball at this club called NYC Impact, and she encouraged me to try out. At that time, I was a big basketball player, so I didn’t really want to do it, but I eventually went for fun. She told me I had a really good arm and that the head coach wanted me, so I ended up accepting a full scholarship to play that year. Ever since then, I have been playing volleyball, and I joined the Stuyvesant varsity team during my freshman year.

2. What inspired you to join the volleyball team here at Stuyvesant?

Volleyball was actually one of the main reasons I wanted to come to Stuy[vesant]. When I first started playing, they won the city championships, so I said to myself, let me go to Stuy[vesant] because I want to play volleyball, not for the academics, but for the sports, because obviously, Stuy[vesant] is a sports school.

3. What position do you play, and what skills/strengths are involved?

I am an outside hitter, which requires you to be good at hitting and passing. Some of the positions are just for front row or just for back row. For example, liberos and DS’s [defensive specialists] are just for the back row, and middles are just for the front row. But if you’re outside, you should be able to pass and hit well.

4.Do you have a most memorable/proud moment with the Vixens?

It was definitely when we played against Midwood last year, who had a really good team and were bound to win the city championships. We played against them in a tournament, and the game ended up going down to the wire. It was special because last season was really difficult, not only because we had just come back from COVID, but also because we lost a lot of our really good players the year before. So the fact that we were able to keep the game close all the way through made me really proud of my team. I remember everyone was crying at the end because we were all just proud of each other, and even though we lost, it felt like a major win.

5. How has being a captain changed your outlook on volleyball? What lessons have you learned that you can apply to life?

Everyone knows that being captain is a huge responsibility. I think something I learned is leading by example. I feel like my team looks up to me a lot, and so I feel like I always have to be able to perform. It’s kind of similar to my work as a Big Sib, since my Little Sibs also look up to me, and I also want to set a good example for them.

6. What does a typical practice look like?

It’s really rough. I think there’s been a lot more conditioning this season than in previous ones. We usually run six to 10 laps for warmups everyday, and we do a lot of drills, working on fundamentals like passing, serving, hitting. It definitely varies day-to-day, though.

7. Do you have any plans to continue playing volleyball in college?

I don’t think I am good enough to play college. Even D3 volleyball is pretty competitive, especially in New York. I will probably do intramural or club. If I go to a college with a D3 program, I might try out as a walk-on.

8.What are your individual goals for this season? What are the team goals for the season?

My individual goal is just to have fun because it is my senior year, and probably the last time I play volleyball on a legitimate competitive team. For this season, I also want to set a good foundation for our younger players, especially our juniors who are going to continue our team’s legacy. Our team’s goal is definitely to make the city championships this year.

9.What are the best and worst parts of volleyball?

I think the worst part is definitely that volleyball is a very mental sport. If you mess up, it’s really hard to get out of your head, and you end up putting too much pressure on yourself. I think the best part of volleyball is the community, especially during these last two years at Stuy[vesant]. I didn’t have the best team experience my freshman year, but things have changed since then, and I’m glad everyone now has had the chance to build connections with each other.