Miami Ohio University Athletics
Rusek Signs with VC Tirol to Begin Pro Volleyball Career
3/12/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
OXFORD, Ohio -- It was announced Monday that Miami University senior outside hitter Olivia Rusek will be continuing her volleyball career as she has signed with VC Tirol of the Austrian Bundsliga league. The team is based in Innsbruck, Austria. She will be joining the team in the fall.
Rusek just concluded an impressive four-year volleyball career by being named Mid-American Conference Co-Player of the Year as a senior. She became the 21st member of Miami's 1,000-kill club, finishing with 1,014 career kills. A strong six-rotation player, she also had 756 digs and 132 blocks during her four seasons with the RedHawks.
"When I was younger and people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered by saying I wanted to be a professional soccer player," said Rusek. "As I got older, I realized my love for volleyball far surpassed my love for soccer, and I knew I could really do something great with my abilities. My career in volleyball has been a series of dreams coming true that I had never imagined possible: making varsity as a freshman in high school, getting a full scholarship to play at the Division I level, and now finally becoming a professional athlete. When I was a senior in high school, we had senior superlatives and I was voted `most likely to be a pro athlete.' I laughed when I saw the results as it had never even crossed my mind that I would eventually be capable of doing so. I am incredibly thankful for my experience playing volleyball at Miami University, as it gave me an excellent education as well as the tools to continue my career in Europe."
Rusek continues the long standing recent tradition of former Miami stars joining the Austring Bundsliga league. She will join Paige Hill ('17), Maris Below ('17) and Meg Riley ('14) in competing for various teams in the league next season. In addition, Annie Reiswig ('15) competes overseas in England for Northumbria.
