JUST like her fellow Fil-foreign ace Savi Davison, reigning PVL All-Filipino Conference MVP Brooke Van Sickle wasn’t spared from the challenges of being undersized in the North American volleyball scene.
READ: Once deemed too short, Savi Davison now standing tall in the PVL
At 5-foot-9, a height identical to the likes of Creamline’s Alyssa Valdez and Cignal’s Vanie Gandler, Petro Gazz’ Fil-American spiker was already tagged as a ‘short’ player in her college days with the University of Hawaii and Oregon.
“Growing up as a hitter in the U.S., I was already undersized. I was going against girls that are typically taller than 6-foot and that’s kind of short. It’s like 6-foot-3 plus (on average) for outside (spikers), I feel like,” Van Sickle shared with SPIN.ph.
“I had to always go against people who are taller than me. Being tall, (they can hit) a lot of angles. Just being that big, they hit very hard themselves.”
Taller spikers often got the better of her in games and would often leave her arms battered and bruised.
Hence, it wasn’t just a matter of wanting to be great that enabled Van Sickle to stand out and discover her A-game once she entered Philippine volleyball.
She needed to be great.
“I would come home from games sometimes where I played higher-ranked teams and I’ll be covered in bruises. In a way, just growing up, I figured if I were to break out and be here, I have to jump as high every time and try to hit the ball as hard as possible,” said Van Sickle.
“The more you challenge yourself to hit harder and harder, your body will start adapting to it.”
Best of both worlds for BVS
While scoring is a given in Van Sickle’s volleyball arsenal, floor defense has been her forte, too.
Ranked sixth in digs and ninth in receptions, BVS was also able to thrive in a non-scoring department in which height wasn’t of the essence as much as it is in areas like spiking or blocking
“Being an outside (spiker), we have other responsibilities. It’s not just hitting. We have to do everything. That being said, everything I do, every hit I make, I’m always trying to give it a hundred percent. The better I can dig, the better I can pass, it sets my team up better for success,” Van Sickle said.
Being a beach volleyball player for a time also had a hand in her rise into one of the PVL’s best two-way players today.
As she put it, “What led to that was my time in beach volleyball, going back and forth (on offense and defense). In beach, I was a defender. I was really mindful then if I can try to give it more extra effort (on defense).”
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