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BLACKSBURG -- In 2011, Kathryn Caine and Jordan Fish stepped onto the Virginia Tech campus as freshmen looking to earn their degrees and play the sport that they love in one of the most competitive conferences in the country. The careers that they produced can be explained by looking at the Hokie volleyball program’s record books.

Caine turned in two All-ACC seasons, was named an honorable mention All-American as a sophomore and holds the program’s single match record with an .857 hitting percentage against North Carolina State on Oct. 12, 2012. Fish currently ranks fifth all-time in Tech history with 3,520 career assists and was twice named ACC All-Academic.

Their journeys started together and they continued along the same path after graduation. That path took them a long way from Blacksburg.

The Hokie duo recently wrapped up their seasons playing volleyball in Europe. Fish played in Copenhagen with the Amager Volleyball Klub while Caine played and worked towards earning her master’s degree at Durham University, a college in Northern England that competed in both the British University and Colleges Sport League and England’s National Volleyball League.

“I got to travel all over the United Kingdom and play against players from various Eastern European countries. That was really cool,” Caine said. “I went over there to finish my education first and foremost and playing volleyball for the school was an added bonus to help pay for it.”

After finishing third in the top league in Denmark, Fish and Amager Volleyball Klub made its first Final Four appearance in team history. Caine helped lead her team to the Division I title of the NVL, which promoted the squad to the highest table of England’s professional volleyball league, the Super 8s. Perhaps more importantly, the McLean, Virginia native is on track to defend her thesis in September and graduate from the university in January.

Many of Fish’s and Caine’s classmates left Tech equipped with degrees and an eagerness to attack the job market. They all had to go through adjustments and Fish and Caine were no different. They were there to play and, in the case of Caine, work toward earning her master’s in marketing. Despite some unique circumstances, the pair wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“The biggest adjustment from playing in the ACC to playing professionally was learning Danish, a new language, in order to communicate with my teammates and understand my coaches,” Fish remarked. “I was being completely immersed in a different culture and exploring different areas of Europe while playing the sport that I love.”

“It was a blast meeting the girls from all of the different schools,” said Caine, who played against alums from Virginia, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Colorado State and Indiana. “We all had a different style of playing and you could tell what kinds of programs everyone came from based off of their work ethic, style of play, and skill.”

When asked if they had a favorite memory from their experiences, Caine and Fish felt that there were too many choose. Both travelled the European continent, played for championships in their respective countries and competed either alongside or against fellow athletes from ACC. Their opportunities came out of playing for Virginia Tech, a place close to each player’s heart. No matter where they would go in the world, maroon and orange will always stay with them.

“I miss the people,” Fish said. “My teammates, coaches, and Hokie Nation- there’s just nothing else quite like it around the world.”

“Virginia Tech was my home away from home,” Caine said. “It was the best decision I ever made in my life and I am so thankful I got to experience a school like that.”

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