Kelly Guarino, junior co-captain of the volleyball team, has made history by reaching 1,000 digs in her third year as a Cavalier. Guarino is only the third Cabrini volleyball player to reach this milestone.
Guarino has been playing volleyball since she was in the fourth grade. She found her love for the sport because her two older sisters played the sport and her parents both coached. It was almost natural that she also picked up the sport.
In high school, Guarino’s volleyball team at Pope John Paul II in Upper Providence Township, Pa., was first team all-state and they were the first team at her school to win district championship. Guarino helped her team make it all the way to the state semi-finals.
After playing volleyball for so long, Guarino knew that she wanted to continue playing in college.
Before the game where Guarino reached her 1,000th dig, her sister told her she only had three more digs to go. Once Guarino had only one dig left to go, some of her teammates on the sidelines were holding up a finger to signal to her she only needed one more.
“As I got my 1,000th dig, my whole team and our fans started cheering and clapping,” Guarino said. “It felt really great.”
Guarino suffered a concussion earlier this season and could not play for about six games. She said sitting on the sidelines was frustrating. Luckily, it did not affect her game play.
“I bounced back from it [the concus- sion] and just picked up right where I left off,” Guarino said.
Guarino felt that reaching her goal after being injured and having to sit on the sidelines made the accomplishment even more exciting.
“I never really thought about reaching it [1,000 digs] but then, as they told me my stats were getting close to 1,000, it became a goal,” Guarino said.
When Guarino finally reached her goal, she was proud of herself.
“I worked hard for it,” Guarino said. Guarino said that her parents have always been her biggest supporters. “They go to all my games. It doesn’t matter how far a game is. They are always there,” Guarino said.
Guarino’s mother, Patricia Guarino, is extremely proud of everything Kelly has accomplished on and off the court.
“I had no doubt that Kelly would reach 1,000 digs. Even though we all knew it was coming close by her stats, it was not her main concern,” Guarino’s mother said in an email. “Kelly plays volleyball because she loves the sport.”
“She just keeps getting better and better and she does not take it for granted,”
Guarino’s mother said. “She worked very hard for where she is now.”
Guarino’s mother is not the only one who sees Kelly’s hard work paying off.
“Kelly works extremely hard everyday at practice and it shows on game days,” Cassidy Koenig, a close friend and co-captain of the volleyball team with Guarino, said. “Kelly is very selfless on the court. She is always picking up another team- mate when they are down and encourag- ing them to do better.”
“She is so determined to make herself and the team better. She always gives 100 percent,” Koenig said.
Assistant coach of the volleyball team, Rachel Lubberman, also sees Guarino’s hard work paying off and is impressed with Guarino’s great sportsmanship.
“Kelly is a great defensive player and leader on the court,” Lubberman said. “She can read the plays well, and she helps to motivate the players.”
Lubberman had a feeing that Guarino would reach 1,000 digs during her time as a Cav.
“Kelly has been a starter since she was a freshman, and she has played very well,” Lubberman said. “It was great to see one of our players achieve this accomplish- ment. She has worked really hard on an off the court. It is well deserved.”
