Journeys. Whether it be starting school or a new hobby, everyone in life goes through them - and the ups and downs that come along the way.
The thing about journeys is they feel long while they’re happening but when you look back, it really went by in a flash. Only when you take a step back and look at your journey can you see the highs and lows and realize how it was all worth it. This is how senior Ofure Iselen would describe her time at UC Irvine as a member of the women’s volleyball team: a journey.
“I would describe it as a journey. I know it's cliche, but it flew by so fast. I can't even wrap my head around that it's done. I would just describe it as a roller coaster. There were the highest of highs and there were the lowest of the lows.”
Iselen’s volleyball career had an unexpected starting point. As her mom wanted her and her siblings to stay active, she was involved with multiple sports growing up. However, it was actually her friend who convinced her to try out for a volleyball team.
“Once I got to middle school, I made my friend try out for the basketball team and then she made me try out for the volleyball team. So, I was just playing middle school volleyball, nothing serious. Then once I got to high school, my mom was like, okay, you have to pick one to really get serious about.”
Since the volleyball season started in the fall before basketball, Iselen’s high school athletic career began with spikes instead of layups, and the rest is history. She made varsity her freshman year and enjoyed the experience. She had found her sport of choice.
Having only started playing competitive volleyball her freshman year of high school, Iselen had some catching up to do, but that didn’t stop others from recognizing her potential. During her high school season, a club director approached her and asked about joining their club volleyball team. Iselen was immediately interested as it would help her grow and they saw potential in her ability to play at the collegiate level.
Iselen put in the work and eventually schools started calling. When it came time to commit, UC Irvine felt like the right fit.
“I had heard of UC Irvine. Some of my friends’ older siblings went there so I was familiar with the school. It was really pretty, and it was not too far from home (the Bay Area). Also, UCI is a really well-known school and that degree holds a lot of weight, so I felt I was getting the best of both worlds. I would get to live out my dreams of playing Division I volleyball while also getting a degree that could push me further after I'm done with volleyball.”
Her freshman season was all about learning and adjusting to the college life. At the advice of her coaches, and coming off an early injury, she focused her efforts in the weight room and learning the ins-and-outs of being a Division I student-athlete.
“My freshman year, I didn't have many expectations. Coach Ashlie (Hain) told me when I first came in to get serious in that weight room because it would help me a ton. I took that to heart, and I made sure that the weight room was my best friend. Being in the weight room seriously and trying to find that [improvement], and then senior year breaking into that starting lineup was huge for me. It felt like my whole journey kind of meant something and all my hard work didn't go to waste. I was happy the way we ended, and I couldn't have asked for a better senior season.”
Iselen bided her time and put in the work to continually improve. She played sparingly her first two seasons with her playing time increasing her junior year, but it wasn’t until her senior season when she earned the opportunity to be in the starting lineup. That doesn’t mean there weren’t still a few bumps along the way in her journey. While she began the season in the starting lineup, by the end of the second preseason tournament, Iselen found herself back on the bench. It was a mental battle as this was her senior year and there was no next season.
“It was probably the biggest challenge mentally and emotionally that I had to face because before it was always like you have next year to try again or get better, but getting benched during preseason of my senior year, I was like there is no next year, right? It was more of a mental challenge than it was a physical challenge because I felt like I was there physically, but mentally I couldn't perform. I've never had to deal with my mental health throughout sports. I was always a pretty positive person. So, when my mental wasn't there, it's like, how do you get back to believing in yourself? How do you get back to who you are as a person and as a player?”
Still, Iselen persevered and found her way back into the lineup during the beginning of conference play. From there, she continued to play well, helping lead the Anteaters to a winning record, the program’s first season sweep of Hawai’i and an appearance in the Big West Championships. She ended her senior season ranked first in the Big West in blocks per set (1.24), while averaging 1.21 kills per set and making the Big West Fall All-Academic team.
