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Bringing It Home – The Saint Rose Blog

Golden Knight Spotlight: Maryellen Devic

Golden Knight Spotlight is a student-athlete profile series run by Alexander Lawrence ’18 in coordination with Golden Knights Athletics staff. 

Maryellen (right, #8) with her teammates Sam (center, #13) and Cara (left, #18)

Maryellen (right, #8) with her teammates Sam (center, #13) and Cara (left, #18)

Maryellen Devic #8

Sport: Volleyball (Outside Hitter)
Hometown: Orchard Park, NY
Class Year: 2017 ­­­
Major: Communication, Sciences, and Disorders (CSD)
Favorite study spot:
Library 2nd floor
Favorite food: Sushi
One interesting fact about yourself: I never originally wanted to get involved in volleyball. Soccer was my main sport when I was younger. My mother got me involved in it because I was tall and I’m glad I stuck with it.

 

What set SR apart from other schools: “When I started looking at schools I knew I wanted to study speech. I wanted to be able to balance out my academics with volleyball and this school gave me that opportunity.”


Why SR Volleyball:
“I reached out to Brian Goodale. I knew I wanted to play either Division II or Division I volleyball. We set up a recruiting visit and I was able to come and watch a practice. I just loved the level of volleyball that the program was playing at. It was a good group of girls and coaching staff.”

 

Most memorable moment or game: “Making it to the NCAA championship my second year on the team is one of my favorite memories. Another memory I’ve had in my volleyball career was junior and senior year of high school when we won section VI class AA titles. Both of those were awesome moments.”


How you got involved:
“I first started playing volleyball seriously when I was 14-years-old. My mother signed me up for local club volleyball. My club director encouraged me to try out for the travel team and I was in disbelief that I had made the travel team after trying out. My mother (Suzanne) ran track in high school and still does marathons, my father (John) competed in football in high school and my brother (Jack) made the Millersville University golf team.”

 

Do you have a saying or motto you live by: “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.”

 

Where you draw your inspiration from: “My teammates. Volleyball is a team sport, so we rely on each other in practices to get better and in games.”

 

How do you prepare before a game: “We scout before most of our games and I go through the motions of our game in my head to mentally prepare myself. Before a lot of games I have Pepsi to get myself energized.”

 

What are you looking to accomplish this year: “I want to finish out my senior season with my team as strong as we can.”

 

Devic in action trying to keep the ball in play

Devic in action trying to keep the ball in play

My Comments/ takeaway from the interview: Maryellen is a senior here at The College of Saint Rose who is pursuing her degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. During my interview she sounded very passionate about not only volleyball, but her education as well. She seems to really love her major. From our discussion I can tell she really got a lot of knowledge from her academics here at Saint Rose. “When I first got here we had a strong team with experience. All of us built chemistry early on and the game became natural. Now as I’m in my senior year I see that the team has a lot of potential and our defense has stepped up from a year ago. Going forward I think the team will be versatile still, such as this year’s team and I’m confident in coach Volpe-Rivera’s abilities and recruiting skills,” Devic said. “We push each other to get better and hold each other accountable to be the best players we can be. I think we’re one of the stronger serving teams, which helps us improve on other aspects of the game. We’re a pretty close team and I’m going to miss the bonding moments,” Devic said about her teammates. She shows her passion for what she loves by putting it all out there on the court. Maryellen is not the type of athlete who you’ll ever have to worry about not working to improve her game. She’s not only a hardworking athlete, but she showed how open she is with discussing her career and I can say Saint Rose will truly miss her presence on the court and on campus. Congrats on a good season Saint Rose Volleyball!!!

 

Senior goodbye: To my teammates and best friends, I would like to say thank you for making these past four years truly amazing and unforgettable. Words cannot describe how thankful I am to have been able to play volleyball at Saint Rose alongside extremely talented players and overall great people. To my fellow seniors especially, I cannot imagine what my college experience would have been like without you four by my side, and I am so grateful to have gone through it all with you. Through this experience I have gained so much, but perhaps the most valuable part is the friendships I have formed with my teammates. The memories we have made on and off the court will stick with me forever. I also want to thank my coaches for making me a better volleyball player and a better person. They have taught me so many incredibly valuable life lessons that I will carry with me wherever I go. Being a part of Saint Rose Volleyball has been an amazing experience that I will miss immensely and remember forever.

 

Blog goodbye: I’d like to thank Maryellen and everyone else who helped make this blog possible. It’s been a lot of fun for three years being able to do this and I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people. That is why it is heartbreaking to announce I’ll be ending the Golden Knight Spotlight to accept a blogging position for an entire website called “Talking Ball”, but I will not stop blogging here. It’s been a blast and I can’t wait to see what’s in store going forward. Thank you to all the loyal fans of the blog series who helped make it great. Signing off one last time—This has been the Golden Knight Spotlight. #GoGoldenKnights #GoldBlooded #StRose

Maryellen with her parents, grandmother, and brother

Maryellen with her parents, grandmother, and brother

Visit GoGoldenKnights.com for team schedules, updates and more.
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 #GoldBlooded

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