Talk to Deanna Zwarich for a minute and you'll get a feeling of what it's like to be a student-athlete. It's not the same, she says. No time to study. No time to party. But don't get her wrong: It's an experience she wouldn't give up to become just a regular student.
"We get something special aside from scholarships and dinners," said Zwarich, Virginia volleyball's record-setting middle blocker. "Although we do miss tons of classes during the season and aren't really around during the weekends like the majority of students, we get to play a sport on a collegiate level on a team that is incredibly close."
In a volleyball match, a player who has the spirit and ability to motivate teammates is as valuable as a team's top athlete. That's why Zwarich, reserved and introverted off the court, transforms into an emotionally explosive force on court.
"I have been criticized both ways," Zwarich said. "I have been criticized for being emotional and praised for being emotional. I have everything invested in the game. When it's not going well it hits me deep, and when it is going well it hits me deep."
Fellow senior Katie Jones also said Zwarich seems to have the most fun while playing volleyball.
"D gets excited when she does something, but what is even better is the excitement she shows when someone on the team does something," Jones said. " When one of us makes a good play, she just looks at us and you can see in her eyes how excited she is for you."
This season Zwarich has led the Cavaliers to a 15-12 overall record, 8-6 ACC. In its last match, Virginia came from behind to upset ACC powerhouse Georgia Tech, 3-2, (10-15, 8-15, 15-2, 15-10, 15-12). The Cavs are now tied for third place in the ACC with Wake Forest, who Virginia plays Nov. 10 in Winston-Salem. If the Cavs can take that match, they not only will take third place in the ACC but also will gain the third seed in the ACC Tournament, which would allow them to avoid facing Georgia Tech until the finals.
As the ACC Tournament looms, Zwarich said she recognizes the importance of bringing the team together to play consistently through the end of the regular season.
"Our team is inexperienced and I knew it would take a while for us to jell," Zwarich said. "Last time we played Wake we took them to five and lost. But I felt like we didn't play well as a team. After beating Georgia Tech, I know we can beat anyone in the ACC."
Last year with superstar setter Mary Frances Scott and middle blocker Jessica Parsons, Virginia could beat any team, ACC or not. Back then Zwarich was more of an outside contributor, an afterthought for opponents' schemes. But now she is no longer an unrecognized force in ACC volleyball. Teams focus their defensive strategies with Zwarich in mind, always keeping an eye out for her on the court.
"In the past years it has been easier because the teams we play against haven't expected me to do anything," Zwarich said. "Now other teams scout us out and say, 'No. 8 is getting the ball,' and they stick with me."
However, the attention she receives from teams has not quelled her prolific offensive attack. As a senior, Zwarich is having her dream season, and the record book reflects it. She captured the top two spots for match kills in the Virginia record books by slamming 40 kills against Duke and 35 against Virginia Tech. Zwarich's 22 kills against Georgia Tech moved her to 500 kills on the season and gave her Virginia's single season kills record. Zwarich is now 13 kills shy of surpassing Greta Jansson's school record of 1,465 career kills.
For an athlete like Zwarich, it seems easy to get caught up in all the numbers she is posting and records she is shattering this season. But for Zwarich, it is obvious the numbers have no part in her drive to succeed.
"I don't think about records before the game, during the game, and not even until after the game when it was announced," Zwarich said. "I think about stats only if I am making a whole bunch of errors, but if it is the other way around I just stay focused on the match."
Aside from her offensive attack, Zwarich is the only Cavalier to record 100 or more blocks in all four seasons, a testament to her impregnable defense. She has a total of 124 blocks this season and stands fourth all-time in career blocks with 441.
The student athlete may not be able to be a regular student. They always will have practices, games, meetings and other events eating away at their free time, making it impossible to spend time doing things the regular student body does. But, in the case of Zwarich, what she misses by not being a traditional student never could compete with the benefits, both physically and mentally, that she receives from playing volleyball for Virginia.
"Some girl in one of my classes asked me if I played a sport," Zwarich said. "And I just thought, 'Duh, of course,' cause it is so blatantly obvious to me. It just made me see the other perspective, that some people just have no concept of the athletic world at our university, and that makes me feel like maybe I don't have a concept of the regular world at the University"
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