Nicole Fawcett aka The Record Holder

In case you didn’t know, Team USA’s Nicole Fawcett currently holds the record with the most points scored in a match (55 points). Fawcett, who is playing in the Korean League, talks to Volleywood about her record breaking performance, life in Korea, future, journey with Team USA & many more.

It’s another Volleywood EXCLUSIVE!

Ace from Volleywood had a once in a lifetime Skype Date with Nicole a few days ago. Chat transcript below.

How’s Korea treating you?

It’s really good. I really, really enjoy my time here. The people here are amazing. It’s been a happy place for sure!

You spent the previous season in China with Evergrande, how did you end up playing in the Korean League?

I received several offers but to play in Korea was just the most appealing for me.

From China to Korea, were you culture shocked?

China was a bit easier for me because I had Coach Jenny Lang Ping who understands the American culture pretty well & I also had Carolina Costagrande and Kasia Skowronska on my team.

Going to Korea and being the only foreigner was definitely an eye opener because I had no one else. I don’t have Carol and Kasia with me. It was adjustment. The people here are very respectful, Mind blowing at times, and that’s why I really like it here and it made the transition much easier.

Got a translator?

Yes. She was the one who picked me up at the airport. I am very fortunate to have her since she spent years living in Vancouver, Canada.

I’ve heard a lot of crazy stories on how the players train throughout the season. Anything to share?

They are really into running here and it’s just the opposite of what I like. When the trainer says “Run!” and I go “I’m not sure that’s a good idea! Haha!”. Having knee issues also is a challenge because they like to run long distances here. It was a minor problem at first but now it’s all resolved.

So what’s your weekly schedule like?

We live in a dorm.

On a typical day, we have 6:50am team breakfast. Go back to sleep then weights, ball handling and conditioning at 9:30am -12:30pm. Lunch, shower and nap before ball practice at 3:30pm – 6:30pm.

Any day off?

No day off! Like for the month of December, I only had 1 day off.

Dang! Did you expect this kind of schedule?

I wasn’t expecting it to be this extreme. If we lose a match, then we don’t get a day off. We have 3 matches per week and we can be really tired.

How’s your teammates?

I really, really enjoy my teammates. They are the sweetest girls! They don’t really speak a lot of English so a lot of times we communicate via hand gestures.

Gestures really help us a lot on and off the court. Out of all my teammates, I communicate well with our libero, who plays for the Korean national team. Whenever I need to say something to my teammates, I tell her and she then translates it to the rest of the team.

I’ve learned a few basic Korean volleyball terms which are helpful.

As far as being able to go out, we can’t really leave the compound. We stay in a dorm. Sometimes we go out for a team dinner.

The last time you went shopping?

I can’t even remember! (laughs)

Are you in touch with the other foreign players?

Yes but it’s really hard to meet up and hang out together due to our training and league schedule.

Per FIVB released on February 14th, 2013:

Fawcett scored 55 points in leading her club to a five-set victory over Industrial Bank of Korea. She recorded 53 kills on 85 attacks with only seven errors as part of her record-breaking performance.

“This was a really big and important game for us, so I was never thinking about the points I was scoring. The only thing that was going through my mind was making every point count so we could win the match. I was completely unaware of the points that I had until after the game when my interpreter came up to me and told me that I broke a record here for most points in a match.”

When asked if this match was her best performance ever, Fawcett responded that the record set is something that she will always remember, but not necessarily for the number of points scored.

“This is a tough question! I can’t really say, but this will definitely be a match that I will always remember. I think learning wise, this is the most significant because there were things that I was focusing on that I previously never have before and I feel like that really elevated my game.”

“The biggest thing that I have learned through my short amount of years playing is that it is very difficult to be experienced without playing to get experience. A lot of the situations that I have been placed in, in Korea, has given me great training, albeit very difficult at times. But those are the moments that I’ve learned that the harder something is, if I can do my best to learn from it, I come out of it a better player and stronger person. What we do can be very challenging for a lot of reasons, but that’s what makes it so rewarding when we have the success.”

1. She’s a phenomenal chef.

10. I would jump through fire for her.

INFO

Position: Outside Hitter
Height: 6-4
Weight: 180
Hometown/Residence: Zanesfield, Ohio/Zanesfield, Ohio
Birth Date: 1986
College/Major/Grad Year: Penn State/Human Development and Family Studies/NA
Joined Team: June 2009

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

2012 – Pan American Cup (Gold). 2011 – Montreux Volley Masters (Fourth). 2010 – Montreux Volley Masters (Silver)…FIVB World Grand Prix (Gold). 2009 – FIVB World Grand Prix (9th)…Final Four Intercontinental Cup (Silver)…NORCECA Continental Championship (4th)

INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

2012 – Played in 20 sets with one match start at the Pan American Cup in which the U.S. captured the gold medal…Averaged 1.90 points at the Pan American Cup with a 45.2 kill percent. Tallied 15 points off the bench versus Cuba at the Pan Am Cup, along with nine points in a reserve role versus Brazil in the gold-medal victory.

2011 – Averaged 3.00 points in 12 sets during the Montreux Volley Masters…Scored 15 points versus Germany on June 9 in three sets…Tallied 14 kills on 31 attacks against China on June 12…Averaged 1.58 digs per set at Montreux.

2010 – Played in 13 sets with one match start at the Montreux Volley Masters event in which the U.S. won the silver medal…Scored 10 points mainly as a double-substitution at the Montreux event which limited her court time…Started one match during FIVB World Grand Prix, tallying a kill versus Dominican Republic on Aug. 6.

2009 – Played 74 sets in first year with 2.12 scoring average and .242 hitting efficiency…Played in 33 of 36 sets of the FIVB World Grand Prix with three match starts…Averaged 2.55 points per set during World Grand Prix, including averages of 2.06 kills and 0.42 blocks…First three matches as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team were starts with at least 11 points scored…Tallied double-double of 27 points and 11 digs versus Puerto Rico on Aug. 1, which ranked as the top U.S. scoring performance during the 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix…Scored 14 points against Netherlands…Averaged 2.13 points per set during Final Four Intercontinental Cup despite primarily used as a reserve…Scored seven points and provided 12 digs in only start of Final Four Cup against Dominican Republic on Sept. 11…Tallied 10 points (8 kills, 1 ace, 1 block) in three sets versus Peru on Sept. 10…Recorded 11 kills versus Brazil in Final Four gold-medal match on Sept. 13…Tallied 15 points and 13 digs in four-set victory over Canada at NORCECA Championship quarterfinal on Sept. 25…Converted five of 10 attacks into kills without an error against Cuba on Sept. 27.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS

2008 – Named AVCA Division I National Player of the Year, third consecutive AVCA All-America First-Team honor and fourth overall AVCA All-American award…Selected as Honda Award winner for overall best NCAA Division I volleyball player… Led Penn State to an undefeated record (38-0) and its second straight NCAA title and sixth consecutive Big Ten crown…Averaged 3.78 kills per set on .358 hitting for the year, with her kills per game average ranking second on the team…Led Penn State with 40 service aces and also added in 219 total blocks for the year.

2007 – Selected to AVCA All-America First-Team and NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after guiding Penn State to the NCAA Division I Tournament championship…Unanimous selection to All-Big Ten First-Team…Started all 36 matches of the season and played in 120 of 122 sets…During NCAA Tournament (20 sets), averaged 4.20 kills per game on .387 hitting with 12 service aces, 22 digs and 26 blocks …Held season average of 4.44 kills per set (533 total kills) and finished with a hitting percentage of .313, good for 10th in the Big Ten.

2006 – Selected AVCA All-America First-Team and unanimous All-Big Ten First-Team…Selected as Academic All-Big Ten…Played in all 35 matches of the year and 113 of 114 sets…Averaged 4.27 kills per set (483 total kills), good for second on the team and eighth in the Big Ten…Finished the season ranked fourth on the team and sixth in the conference in hitting percentage (.331), the only pure left-side hitter in the league within the top six…Ended her second season with 979 career kills.

2005 – Selected as AVCA NCAA Division I National Freshman of the Year and AVCA All-America Second-Team All-America…Named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-Big Ten First-Team…Started all 34 matches in freshman season and set an NCAA Tournament record for hitting percentage by attacking at a career-high .889 clip (16-0-18) against Long Island (12/3) in the second round…Led the Lions and ranked third in the Big Ten with an average of 4.51 kills per set (496 total kills) on .309 hitting…Recorded 31 double-digit kill matches.

OTHER USA VOLLEYBALL EXPERIENCE

2005 – Member of U.S. Women’s Junior National Team that competed at the FIVB Women’s Junior World Championship. 2004 – Member of U.S. Junior Women’s National Team that won gold medal at NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship. 2003 – Member of U.S. Girls’ Youth Team which participated in the FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship in Poland.

CLUB/PREP CAREER

Member of the Team Atlantis Volleyball Club…Four-year volleyball letterwinner and three-year track letterwinner for Benjamin Logan High School in Bellefontaine, Ohio…Four-year team captain in volleyball for the Raiders…2004 Ohio State High School Gatorade Player of the Year…Named to Volleyball Magazine “Fab 50″…Selected Ohio High Magazine Player of the Year as a senior…Led prep team to 92-13 scholastic record, including three league championships and the district and regional runner-up titles in 2004…Three-time First Team All-Ohio honoree…Earned four First-Team CBC honors, four First-Team District IX accolades and three District IX Player of the Year awards…Set school record for kills in a season four consecutive years and olds the Ohio state record for career kills…Regional track high jump finalist in 2004 and 2005… National Honor Society member…Named to the Fall Sport All-Academic Team and the honor roll.

PERSONAL

Born Nicole Marie Fawcett on Dec. 16, 1986, in San Antonio, Texas…Nickname is Nic…Parents are Bob and Kim Fawcett… Mother Kim played volleyball for Wright State…Brother is Joe Fawcett… Maternal grandfather was a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles in 1945…Majored in Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State University…Favorite musical group is Coldplay…Favorite professional team is the New York Yankees…Favorite book is Angels and Demons…Favorite television show is Grey’s Anatomy.

(source: USAV)

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