Courtesy of Brian Beard

Zoe Ryu ’29 has only been on campus for a month but is already making a difference for the volleyball team. Last weekend, the first year recorded 23 kills, 12 aces and five blocks, helping the Polar Bears go 2–1 in their matches at the New England Classic hosted by Smith College.

Ryu fell in love with volleyball seven years ago after participating in a week-long summer camp in Washington, D.C. She then started playing club volleyball, and in her sophomore year of high school, she realized she wanted to play collegiately.

“I visited [Bowdoin] in October of my junior year and met with the coaches, watched a game and I fell in love with the whole campus, the coaches, everything about it. The team was so welcoming,” Ryu said.

Once Ryu arrived on campus in mid-August, her initial impressions were confirmed.

“[The team] has been super supportive,” Ryu said, “They’ve answered all my questions and given me some good advice about classes and athletics.”

In comparison to high school play, Ryu said the structure of the game is similar but the intensity and level of commitment is higher at the collegiate level.

“I loved high school volleyball, and I’m loving collegiate volleyball even more,” Ryu said.

Ryu has been a force for the Polar Bears, recording 50 kills and a team-leading 23 service aces so far this season. This includes an impressive eight kills and three aces in the team’s loss to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (6–6) last Friday.

“We had a big emphasis on playing as a team, playing for the team and mental focus….It wasn’t fully apparent in the game on Friday, but we knew it was there,” Ryu said. “We saw it toward the end and we kind of told each other we need to bring the end of that game into the games on Saturday.”

One of the team’s main goals is focusing on the process of each game rather than getting overwhelmed by outside factors.

“We’re going to play for each other, play with each other, play as hard as we can,” Ryu said. “We’ve also really been focused on effort,… just kind of putting everything you have on the court.”

The Polar Bears brought that focus into their games on Saturday, leading to victories over Babson College (4–3) and Brandeis University (4–5). Ryu led the team with nine aces on her serves.

“In the moment, when I’m playing well, when I feel good, it just fuels the rest of my game. Getting a kill, a good block or whatever just makes you want more,” she said.

Ryu said this weekend increased her confidence and will fuel her season going forward.

“I think for the season I  know how I can play, what my skill level is, and I want to keep improving, keep getting better,” Ryu said.

Although the Polar Bears have only had one home game this season, Ryu is always excited to be on the court with her teammates.

“When you’re in it with your team, when you’re playing well, when things are going well and when things aren’t going well, it’s just like, you’re on the court and you have this kind of feeling of, ‘It’s time to play, it’s time to show what I got and what I can do’,” Ryu said. “It’s honestly the best feeling.”

This weekend, Ryu and the Polar Bears face the Massachusetts Institute of Technology  (7–2) and Wesleyan University (6–0; 0–0 NESCAC) in away games before returning to Morrell Gymnasium to take on Amherst College (3–1; 0–0 NESCAC) on October 3.