July 1, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Former Texas A&M setter Jola Kelner (Beilsko-Biala, Poland) has signed a contract to play professional volleyball with VT Aurubis Hamburg, a member of Germany's 14-team national first league, Bundesliga.
"This is a dream job for me," said Kelner, who completed her Aggie career last season. "When I was growing up in Poland, I was always around volleyball. There was a first-league team in my hometown, and I would always go to matches and I always thought that would be a great job. I could never picture myself in a desk job."
Kelner is the third player from A&M's 2009 NCAA Sweet 16 team to enter the professional volleyball ranks, joining Mary Batis, who reports in August to play for USSPA Albi Volleyball in Albi, France, and Sarah Ammerman, who played for Ponce in the Puerto Rico Volleyball Federation during the spring and will likely join a professional team in Slovenia in August.
"Those of us in Aggie volleyball are very proud to support our athletes who would like to pursue a professional career," A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. "The three players from our 2009 team who are going to Europe are fulfilling dreams that they have each talked about for many years. I am certain that they are well prepared and very enthusiastic about their new teams, and we are proud that they will be representing Texas A&M volleyball in communities around Europe."
Kelner, who made her first-ever trip to the United States when she joined the Aggies in 2006, was a four-year letterwinner for A&M and was voted the team's most inspirational player after each of her final two seasons. Tabbed the team's most improved player following her freshman season, Kelner went on to play in 67 matches and 144 sets during her career.
"In the past four years I got great training by amazing coaches, and I for sure improved my skills." Kelner said. "I learned the importance of setting a goal and doing everything to attain that goal and about being determined. I learned that you can push yourself even more than you think you can and go beyond your limits. The coaches also taught me how to behave on a court and get confidence. It is all interconnected."
This past season, Kelner helped lead A&M to its best season in her four-year career as the Aggies advanced to the NCAA Championship regional semifinals, a 20-11 record and a No. 21 ranking in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. In addition, the Aggies led the nation in assists (14.27) and kills (15.08) per set.
"Jola is one of the most passionate and dedicated athletes that I've ever coached," Corbelli said. "She truly loves to compete and I'm certain that her new team in Germany will benefit from all that she has to offer."
Always determined to make the most of every opportunity, this past season Kelner came off the bench to direct the Aggies to a crucial come-from-behind victory against Northern Iowa in the championship match at the Texas A&M Invitational. The six-footer drew her first start of her senior season at Texas Tech on Sept. 19 and orchestrated the Aggie offense to a season-high .465 hitting efficiency, ranking ninth in the A&M all-time records. Kelner also was instrumental in the Aggies' 3-2 upset at No. 15 seed LSU in the NCAA second round.
"Stepping onto the court, you always want to do your best," Kelner said. "You always want to help the team. That has always been my mindset -- just do your best and do your job. Get your job done every chance you have to get on the court."
Like Batis and Ammerman, Kelner concurred that A&M's two-week European training tour in 2008 deepened her desire to continue her volleyball career after college.
"Going over seas and playing against the teams we played, it just opened up my eyes and I realized this is exactly what I want to do," Kelner said. "Volleyball gives you such great opportunities to live in different places, to see and experience other cultures and to interact with different people. That is what I want to do as long as I can. I want to play volleyball as long as I enjoy it and as long as my body allows me to play. I want to play until I'm 40."
Kelner could have landed with other professional teams in Europe, but when the offer was presented from the team in Hamburg, she jumped on it.
"I had other teams that were interested in me, but VT Aurubis was the first team that made an official offer," Kelner said. "As soon as I found out they were interested in me, I googled everything about them. And with Germany being close to Poland, I will be much closer to home. My family will finally be able to see me play, and that will be amazing. Home will be nine hours by car, not 12 hours by plane."
A member of the 2009 Academic All-Big 12 First Team, Kelner will graduate in August with a bachelor's of science degree in allied health. Following her last final exam, Kelner will return to Poland for 2-3 days before joining her new team in mid-August for preseason training. The season begins in October and runs until mid-May.
"I am so grateful for the opportunity to come to A&M and succeed and receive a great education," Kelner said. "Here at A&M the entire staff always encouraged us to achieve our goals. The program gave us the opportunity to make ourselves better, get in great shape, improve our skills and be tough mentally. Playing pro might seem out of reach to many players at other programs, but here they encouraged us every day to get better and get to where we want to be.
"I'm excited for the next step in my life and to be much closer to home, but I'm also going to be sad to leave A&M. I have had a great time the last four years. It's going to be hard to start new friendships and move to another continent again, but I'm very excited to do it. I'm sad to leave but happy to go. I will definitely come back to A&M to visit. I love being here."
Notes: Ellen Herman, an outside hitter from Ohio University, also has signed to play for VT Aurubis Hamburg. Herman trained with Ammerman as a member of the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Women's National A2 Team program...When she ends her professional volleyball career, Kelner would like to start her own company. "I love to cook," she said. "Maybe I'll open a restaurant or café in Poland. I want to get back home some day."...The VT Aurubis website is www.vt-aurubis-hamburg.de.