For AC Fitzpatrick, there were two special qualities about volleyball that drew her to the game from an early age. Despite playing an array of sports growing up in Ocala, Florida—including basketball, soccer, ballet, and dance—, it was the competitive nature and team aspect of volleyball that quickly ignited an undeniable passion within her for the sport and encouraged her to embark on a journey of her own in the game. Throughout her time in high school, at Trinity Catholic, AC continued to focus on elevating her skills and making an impact on the court. From being named Florida Miss Volleyball and an Under Armour All-American in 2019 to receiving the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year award in 2020, AC earned a series of accolades throughout her time in high school that reflected her dedication to the game. Still, she remained on a mission to reach her highest potential and secure an opportunity to play at the next level. Sure enough, she did just that. After graduating from Trinity Catholic, AC began her collegiate career at Penn State—where she played for two seasons—before transferring to the University of Florida (UF).
She hasn't looked back since. Recently wrapping up her senior season, AC highlights the growth she has experienced throughout her collegiate journey thus far within her game, mindset, and identity as an athlete. As she ponders on what's next, she is excited to be returning to UF for one final season and is looking forward to inching closer to her dreams of playing volleyball professionally upon graduation. Amazing!
Let’s start with your time in high school! You had an incredible career at Trinity Catholic. You were named the 2020 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, you led the team to a state title, you guys won back-to-back regional titles, you had district titles all four years, and you also were named Florida Miss Volleyball. What did achieving these milestones mean to you?
It was very amazing to be awarded with those because I know the hard work that I put in throughout the years. My volleyball career didn't start as shiny as it ended up in high school because I was not amazing at volleyball. But through my coaches and my parents, they were like: “If you want to become good at this, you will work on it every single day.” I remember being nine years old and my parents practicing in the backyard with me with a volleyball just for hours on end so I could slowly get better. It was amazing getting those awards because I could see my hard work paying off, but also see the love for a team—because it was a team effort to get those and to get to where we did.
Looking back on your time in high school, how do you think your game elevated to prepare you for the next level?
When I was a sophomore in high school, I had committed to Penn State—where I played previously. My club coach was like, “Hey, you're going to be playing at an extremely high level. Let's get you prepared for that.” I always played up an age group throughout my club career. When I was a sophomore (though) my coach was like, “Hey, let's put you two years up.” So ever since sophomore year, I was playing in the 18s Division where all these kids were going to college the very next year. I got to get a good feel for the change of pace. I mean, even when I did go from club to college, I was like: “Oh my gosh, this is such a different pace.” But, it prepared me a lot more than it would have staying in my age group.
Diving more into that next chapter as you started your collegiate career, how was that transition from high school to college like for you? What were some challenges that you faced early on?
I did face a lot of challenges with that transition. Being from a small town in Ocala…I'm six-foot and I was the biggest player in Ocala. Going from being the tallest and the strongest—and then going to a program where I was the shortest hitter on the team and I didn’t have the experience (and) the same skills that other collegiate athletes did—, I was like: “Ok this is kind of a reset moment where, with as hard as I've worked, I need to go even harder because I am not at the same skill level as the seniors that I'm playing with.” So it was just adapting to that, and playing against bigger and more athletic kids.
What were some ways that you worked to navigate through and overcome those challenges?
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