The sight of Jocelyn Abad
walking around campus would
generally not paint the picture of
an all-conference athlete.

The 5-foot-3-inch Abad
resembles an ordinary college
student with a permanent grin on
her face. The grin might be a
result of her upbeat attitude or of
her awareness that she has a
staggering hitting ability in
volleyball that surprises her
competitors.

“My hitting comes from being
around the sport for so long,”
Abad said. “I also play with a lot
of heart, so that helps with the
hitting.”

As one of three captains on
Glendale’s women’s volleyball
team, Abad has become a force
with her precision ball control
and power hitting. She leads the
team with experience and
unmatched ferocity on the ball
during an attack.

“A ball can be on one side of
the court and she will run the ball
down every time,” Head Coach
Yvette Ybarra-Cephus said.
“She is just a natural leader.”

Abad was a captain of the
disappointing squad from last
year that went 1-21 and placed
last in their division. It was not
due to a lack of effort.

“It is hard to think about last
year because we had potential
but just could not pull through
when we needed to,” Abad said.
The team may have had all around talent, but were unable to
operate as a team unit. The
dissapointing season can be the
result of many things, but one
thing coach Ybarra-Cephus is adament about is, that leadership
was never an issue with her
captain.

“She made first team allconference
last year,”
Ybarra-Cephus said. “All the
coaches had no doubt that she
belonged there.”

This year will be a chance for
Abad to redeem herself as
captain in what is sure to be a
more potent team.

The athlete with the most
experience on the volleyball
team, Abad began playing
volleyball at the age of 10.
“In fifth grade I decided I
wanted to play sports,” Abad
said. “My parents wanted me to
go all out so I played volleyball,
basketball and softball that first
year.”

The next year she joined a
league and honed in her skills
through countless hours playing
volleyball at school and for the
league.

Her mental and physical
toughness are a result of having
two older brothers that never
gave her a break, “because she
was a girl.”

“I was such a tomboy growing up, they treated me like a
little brother,” Abad said OF
her brothers. “But now I’m a
tough cookie and very strong
because of them.”

The most important lesson
she has learned from her
family is patience with
everything in life. Her parents
have also earned the mark as
her biggest fans.

“My parents go anywhere
and everywhere for me when
it comes to volleyball,” Abad
said. “Sometimes they get
into the sport more than me,
watching it on ESPN and
everything.”

Her teammates rave about
her work ethic and what she
brings to the table every day
in practice and in games.
“She brings experience to
the team and she knows more
about volleyball than anyone
else on the team,” teammate
Cristina Mata said. “And she
never lets you put yourself
down after a bad play.”

Abad understands the team
concept and swears by it for
her own success in volleyball.
“In a team sport it is very
important that we all enjoy
each other,” Abad said. “It
just makes playing the game
easier.”

If the team hopes to put all
doubts to rest they will have
to play together and under the
leadership of Abad.

Expectations will be high,
most of the pressure put on by
the team itself.

“I expect us to do very well
this year. We will be a force
to be reckoned with,” Abad
said. “As long as we fight
hard, I have no complaints.”
As for predictions on the
upcoming season, Abad
refuses to set a concrete goal,
but promises much better
results than last year.

“This season will be
different than last year’s
season,” Abad said.
“Everyone is on fire for this
season.”
The spark everyone will be
looking to set the team on fire
will undoubtedly be from
Abad’s powerful hitting and
finesse passing, grin still
intact.