Kiersten Kaufman isn't your typical jock, but she's certainly not an underachiever, either. The senior rightside hitter prides herself on this individuality.
"Compared to the rest of the team, I'd be pretty unique," Kaufman said. "I'd like people to say [I'm] free-spirited because I don't usually partake in the majority of things that everyone else does. I'm very into music and art and I'm very easy-going."
Kaufman, a reserve throughout much of her collegiate career, has taken on a much larger role this season and shined. Last season, she played in only 14-of-27 matches and 34 total games. Yet this season she has played in all 11 matches and all but five games.
"Kiersten has had a career of ups and downs," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "She recommitted herself to the program and came in great shape this summer. She has really earned the respect of the coaching staff."
Kaufman said she gained motivation last year and decided to work hard this summer to take a larger role on this year's team.
It was "pure desire," Kaufman said. "I know that I've been frustrated in the past and haven't played as much as I'd like to, and I realized that this is my last year and there is no point in just waiting it out and relaxing for a whole season and letting three months go by. I figured I'd just bust my butt and get back into shape and show them what I could do."
And that she has. Kaufman has come on strong of late in what she has called her best year yet, shining at the Toyota Knoxville Lady Vol Classic. Against East Carolina, Kaufman set a career-high with 11 kills, and also added six digs and two blocks. In the previous match, she tallied eight kills, three service aces and two blocks.
"She's hitting a lot better now," Aldrich Shelton said. "She really concentrated on her hitting and becoming more powerful and that allows us to use her both on the left and right sides, which is where we need her. And she'll get a lot of playing time, if the opportunity allows. I'm very confident with her going in and being able to make plays."
That sort of confidence is the role that Kaufman envisions for herself in the Virginia volleyball program.
"I would like to be someone that is needed on the court," Kaufman said. "Whether it be in limited time, but be someone where I'm useful and looked at in times of need."
Kaufman is without a doubt extremely valuable off the court. An anthropology major and art minor, she hopes to attend graduate school for industrial design. But she will leave her greatest mark in the Charlottesville community, where she coaches a 14-and-under volleyball team.
"Hopefully, wherever I go to grad school, I can do some sort of coaching," she said. "I'd like to keep working with kids because I love working with little kids. If I can keep coaching young kids in volleyball, I'd love to keep doing that."
Last spring, she also worked for Teen Give, a court-mandated community service for troubled youths. She is a council member in the student-athlete mentor program and is getting involved in the beginnings of a woman's leadership group.
The 6-foot-2 Kaufman hails from Monroeville, Pa., and was named to the All-State team her senior year. To her, Virginia just stood out as the place to come.
"It wasn't so much that I noticed Virginia right away as being an awesome school," she said. "It was when I went to other schools that I realized that these schools were good, but they really didn't compare."
The most unique part about Kaufman, however, would probably be her band, T.O.W., in which she plays the keyboard. The six-person band includes three current University students and two former students.
"It's got a really heavy feel to it, but we have amazing musicians and it's got a lot of real talented, intricate parts," Kaufman said.
They have played gigs at Outback Lodge and Fridays after 5, and will play tomorrow in Baltimore.
So, if you miss Kaufman on the court, you might see her coaching from the sidelines. Or on stage. You never know.
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