Hazelwood Embraces Fresh Start As A Senior
November 05, 2017 | Volleyball
By Kimberlie Haner
SEATTLE - Marion Hazelwood could have stayed in her comfort zone. After playing three years at Oklahoma, and earning three AVCA All-America Honorable Mentions, she could have taken it a little slower with her coursework instead of graduating in three years, and wrapped up her career in a Sooners program that built its offense around her last season.
Instead, Hazelwood decided she wanted a change and a challenge, and she ended up a Husky for her final year of college volleyball. Though there have been trials both on and off the court, Hazelwood believes this could be her best season yet.
When Hazelwood, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker from Beach City, Texas, realized she could complete her bachelor's degree in business administration by this past May, she began to look into master's programs across the country.
Kimmy Gardiner, a teammate of Hazelwood's at Oklahoma had decided to apply for the Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership program at Washington, a unique graduate program for those looking to work in athletics, while also joining the Husky beach volleyball team for the spring of 2018.
"I was ready for a fresh start," Hazelwood said. "After Kimmy decided she was going to come to Washington I heard about her program, the IAL program. It sounded pretty interesting."
After looking into the IAL program, Hazelwood decided to consider using her last season of eligibility as a graduate transfer. She had a number of possible volleyball teams to join at schools with sports management graduate programs, but eventually the Huskies separated themselves from the rest.
"It was the best bad problem to ever have as a life decision because every school I was interested in was amazing in academics and the teams were awesome and competitive," Hazelwood said. "It just came down to my gut and that's the only way I could distinguish. It was a hard decision, but after coming here, I found a lot of reasons that made me feel like I made the right choice."
The beginning of volleyball practice was a busy time for Hazelwood. There was one week left of summer quarter of the IAL program. Not only did she have class from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but she also had twice a day volleyball practice. It was a hectic time of not only continuing to learn in the classroom, but also learning an entirely new system on the court.
"I went to class, then ran to practice, then ran back to class, then ran back to practice," Hazelwood said. "I didn't really have time to be stressed because there were so many things I had to do. We were wrapping up our classes and I had to figure out how to hang with my teammates who are all really good and compete at a high level every day. It took me a while to get the hang of it."
Adjusting to a new program is difficult to do any time you are new, let alone transferring in for your senior season. The pressure was on for the three-time All-American to perform at a high level for a program that is consistently ranked. Hazelwood felt the difference between Oklahoma and Washington right from the start, creating a challenge.
"Everything on and off the court has been extremely different, which has been a good challenge," Hazelwood said. "It is an incredibly challenging atmosphere, which is a really good learning environment. Between my teammates and my coaches, I feel like I've really been pushed in my short time here athletically, as a leader and mentally."
Washington runs their offensive system a bit differently than most programs across the country. Hazelwood has had to change a lot of her mechanics in how she plays, but it has given her a different repertoire of skills. Despite the challenges, she has been able to learn through the help of those around her.
"With this team, it is a positive atmosphere, but it is challenging," Hazelwood said. "I've had to change a lot of things for the better. The timing is different and I've had to get used to different setters and different blockers. I have to have a connection with each individual person on the team. The hardest part was probably finding my place on the team. It's hard to not get discouraged, but my teammates make it easier because they stay really positive every day."
An interesting dynamic for fall sports student-athletes at Washington is that fall quarter does not begin until the end of September. Because of that, Hazelwood and other athletes can focus on their sport for the first month and a half of the season. This was a big change from Hazelwood's time as a Sooner where they are on the semester system.
"Once summer classes were over, I got to focus on volleyball," Hazelwood said. "That was something I never really got to do at Oklahoma because they had classes way earlier than here, which was overwhelming every year. This season it was nice to have the first half of the season to just focus on volleyball."
Her teammates have been a key part of helping Hazelwood adjust. From her fellow seniors to the players new to the program like her, everyone has been crucial to making this season a success for Hazelwood on and off the court.
"Everyone on the team has all played key parts in making me thankful I'm here," Hazelwood said. "The freshmen give me the excitement of it all being new because I'm pretty much a freshman too. Everything is new and exciting to them and me. The seniors have a lot of experience and are really chill, which has helped me mellow out. Everyone else makes me laugh all of the time. That was something I knew I needed in a team."
Playing in the Pac-12 conference has been a great experience for Hazelwood. Being able to compete not only at the high standard of Washington volleyball but also this conference has made her an even better player.
One of her favorite matches so far in 2017 was the home match against Oregon on October 11. The Ducks took the Huskies to five sets, but Washington prevailed in the end, earning the hard-fought win. Hazelwood earned a career-high 11 kills in the win and put away the final kill on match point.
"Being able to play a team like that and being able to finish was a huge thing to be ready for the tournament in December because every game is like that," Hazelwood said. "They are the biggest heartbreaks when you lose, but they are the most fun games when you win. The five minutes after the win when we were dancing in the locker room were amazing."
That kind of experience is crucial for Hazelwood. During her freshman campaign at Oklahoma, she went to the NCAA tournament. However, her experience was short-lived because the Sooners fell to the LSU Tigers in their first round match.
"It's kind of weird because for me the season has always ended the week of Thanksgiving," Hazelwood said. "I'm grateful that for my last season we have a good chance to extend the year. It's funny because my whole team has made the team for so many years in a row that it is expected of them. I barely got to taste it my freshman year."
Washington still has a lot of work to do before the NCAA tournament. There are still big games to win to work towards earning a good seed.
"We have a lot of work to do until we become the team we feel that is capable of doing well and dominating in the tournament," Hazelwood said. "We are working towards it without overwhelming ourselves with the thought of it. This team has a really good chance of doing some damage."
Hazelwood and the Huskies have goals to reach for as they strive to be the best team they can. They focus on playing at a high level consistently in every game, every match, every week. By doing that, she hopes they can achieve their goals. As for Hazelwood personally, she wants to make more of an impact defensively.
"If I'm not doing well offensively, I want to make up for it defensively," Hazelwood said. "The strongest part of my game has always been offense, but that has just made me want to be better at blocking and defense. That's a huge part of big games. You have to have defense against teams that whale on the ball."
Fans of Washington volleyball may have noticed an increase in dancing on the court this season. The dance parties before the game and on the sidelines have increased in 2017 thanks to the graduate transfer. Hazelwood is a firm believer in using dance to keep herself and her teammates loose and to potentially bring levity to a situation.
"I am a strong believer in staying loose, and there is something about dancing that puts you in a good mood," Hazelwood said. "I used to not be like that in high school. I used to be really stressed and stiff, but I found a way to start dancing. If you make each other dance, it creates a loose and relaxed environment. Obviously there are times in big games when I'm not going to be dancing, but in moments where nothing else seems to be going right, dancing reminds you that you have teammates to dance around with."
Before matches, the team always has a dance party in the locker room. Dancing on the sidelines started to happen more. Hazelwood said that the team knows that they can be serious when they need to be and they can have fun as well.
"It's a really supportive group of girls and it's a unique environment," Hazelwood said. "I'm lucky to be a part of it."
Despite the challenges of the season, including a recent broken finger suffered in practice for one more unwanted obstacle, Hazelwood has discovered that living in the moment is the key to success for her. Because she is constantly learning something new in this program, every day it is easy for her to find something to be excited about.
"It is a grind, but I think with everything being new and exciting, living in the moment was something I learned how to do," Hazelwood said. "I'm not the greatest at that, but my teammates take one thing at a time. I only have a short period of time with this team, coaching staff and Seattle in general, so I'm trying to take advantage of everything."
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