Five questions with Ester Talamazzi

The freshman outside hitter discusses her transition from Italy, cracking the record book and more

March 14, 2018

Editor’s note: Every Wednesday throughout the offseason, we’ll catch up with volleyball student-athletes for five questions.

Ester Talamazzi | Fr. | OH | Campo Ligure, Genoa, Italy

Q: With being in the States for more than a year now, how would you say you have adjusted from coming over from Italy?

TALAMAZZI: “I would say that the hardest thing with coming from a different country, besides the cultural differences, has been the language. When I came here last spring, at first, it was really hard for me to understand. When people where talking, I always had to ask people to talk slower or repeat, but my teammates helped me so much, especially at the beginning. And I can say that after few months, I was already better. After a whole year now, I am for sure more confident even if there is still a lot of to improve.”

Q: Have you been back to Italy since you moved here? If so, what was it like going back and seeing family?

TALAMAZZI: “I have been home twice, summer and winter break, since I moved here. I have been used to the stay far away from home and my family, because I had been doing that since I was younger with playing volleyball away from home. But I had never been in a different country, and that far, though. So, it was nice to go back and be able to spend that time home. I think you never understand how important people and places are until you stay so far from them for a long period of time, you never really appreciate what you have as you should. This is why I tried to spend the whole time with my closest friends and especially my family.”

Q: You had a successful fall at the outside hitter position. What things are you working on this offseason to improve your game going into the upcoming season?

TALAMAZZI: “During this offseason, we have been paying a lot of more attention and fixing little details that will make us work and perform better, both individually and as a team. There is a lot of range of improvement and that is a good thing. We are also getting better every day thanks to the work of our strength coach in Coach [Allison] Randall.”

Q: You racked up 290 kills your first year in Blacksburg, which was the eighth-most by a freshman in school history. What kind of sense of accomplishment does that give you?

TALAMAZZI: “It is definitely a great accomplishment and I am so glad to be a part of this family. At the same time, this accomplishment is a motivation to try to get better every year and achieve bigger things.”

Q: What was your favorite memory from last year's volleyball season?

TALAMAZZI: “Even if I am not from Virginia, and not even from the U.S., I think that my favorite part of the season is when we won against UVA 3-2 in Cassell. The rivalry in the Commonwealth is so infectious.”

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