WPIAL Alum Q&A – Zoe Pawlak

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, November 6, 2017 | 10:33 PM

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Photos credited to Craig Chase

Although Freeport came up short of capturing its third-consecutive girls’ volleyball title last week, the Yellowjackets have been a powerhouse program for the past decade. While the team has featured several elite competitors over the years, perhaps nobody had a great impact than Zoe Pawlak. Pawlak, who now plays at Loyola University, is this week’s athlete for the WPIAL Alum Q&A.

Pawlak was a four-year letterwinner for Freeport volleyball, beginning in her freshman campaign of 2012. That season, the team tied for the section crown with a mark of 11-1. In the playoffs, the Yellowjackets defeated Blackhawk, but then lost to Ambridge in the quarterfinals. In the process, Pawlak earned All-Section Second Team honors.

The following year, Pawlak and the Yellowjackets reached the pinnacle. Once again, Freeport finished in a tie for first place in the section, with a record of 11-1. This time, though, the Yellowjackets made a postseason run that resulted in gold. Freeport defeated Quaker Valley, Central Valley and Knoch to reach the title game, and then bested top-seeded Indiana in straight sets to claim the WPIAL Class AA Championship. The team also appeared in the state playoffs, defeating Hopewell before losing to Fort LeBoeuf in the quarterfinals. Furthermore, Pawlak earned a slew of individual accolades. She was an All-State First Team performer, the WPIAL Class AA Player of the Year, and a First Team All-WPIAL honoree.

In 2014, the Yellowjackets achieved an undefeated mark in the section, finishing 12-0. Freeport then bested Kittanning and Montour in the playoffs, but lost to Ford City in the semifinals. The team still qualified for the state playoffs, but again lost to Fort LeBoeuf, this time in the first round. Pawlak again was an All-State First Team performer, as well as First Team All-WPIAL.

In Pawlak’s senior year, the Yellowjackets once again claimed the section crown, finishing 12-0. In the postseason bracket, the Yellowjackets defeated South Park, Beaver and South Fayette to return to the title game. In that match, Freeport knocked off West Shamokin 3-1 to once again capture WPIAL Class AA gold. In the PIAA playoffs, Freeport edged North East in the first round, but fell to Somerset in the quarterfinals. Similar to her sophomore year, Pawlak was named an All-State First Team honoree, the WPIAL Class AA Player of the Year, and a First Team All-WPIAL performer.

Despite also competing in swimming and track and field at Freeport, Pawlak was destined to play volleyball at the next level, and she continued her career at Loyola University in Maryland.

In her freshman season in 2016, Pawlak played in all 27 matches, including 24 starts. As an outside hitter, she provided 144 kills, the third-best mark on the Greyhounds. She also posted 149 digs, 17 aces and 10 blocks. Loyola struggled, though, finishing with a record of 6-21.

This year, Pawlak has fulfilled a number of different roles, in part because of injury. She has appeared in 17 matches, eight of which have been starts. She has produced 35 kills, seven aces, 122 digs and eight blocks. Loyola, however, has made strides, compiling a mark of 9-18 thus far, with two regular-season matches remaining.

Zoe took time from her schedule to answer questions about her changing role, her accomplished high-school coach, and which cancelled TV show she would like to see return to the air.

Q: You ranked near the top of the team in kills as a freshman. How were you able to have immediate success at the college level?

A: I think that my club team really prepares all of its players to go and play at the college level. Brian Begor is a very good coach and trains his players very well. Not only did I have great coaching before I got to college, I also got very close with my team during preseason going into my freshman year.

Q: You have played a bit more in the back row this year. How has your role on the team changed, and how have you adjusted?

A: At the beginning of this year, I had a shoulder injury, which put me in a different position that I have rarely played before (libero). When my shoulder was eventually good enough to hit, I moved back to my regular position as an outside hitter. That was a big change for me, since the libero runs a lot of the back-court. I enjoyed the different perspective and the chance to better my defense and passing skills. Another change is the fact that I’m a sophomore now. All of the upperclassmen have really been able to help the freshmen adjust pretty well to college and being on the team. I’m glad that I could be a part of that.

Q: In which area would you most like to improve going forward?

A: I would like to improve my serve receive and hitting skills moving forward. That would really help the team in areas that we could improve on right now. As far as intangible skills go, I would like to improve my communication on the court. I feel like that is something that we, as a team, could improve on, and would be a factor in point-scoring.

Q: Loyola has already won more matches this season than all of last year. What has led to the team’s improvement?

A: I feel like the addition of the freshmen have really helped the team improve. They have brought a lot of competition to our practices to help make all of us better. Also, my team put in a ton of work in the spring and in preseason in preparation for this season. I know that was also a huge factor in the team’s improvement.

Q: What individual or team goals did you set for 2017?

A: We made a goal to be consistent this year with things like energy, hustle, and skill. This is something that we have been better at doing this year, because we stress it so much. It is always our goal to make it to the Patriot League Championships, but we usually make smaller goals than that because that’s a very broad goal.

Q: What has been the most intense or enjoyable road environment you have played in so far in college?

A: We played at Army at the beginning of the season this year. Even though there weren’t a ton of fans to bring energy to the game, my team brought that energy to the court. We were able to win that game partly because we had that energy and tenacity that gave us hope that we could win the next three games even after we lost the first. 

Q: Why did you decide to attend Loyola University?

A: Besides being recruited for volleyball, I knew Loyola was a prestigious school. When I visited, I loved the size of the campus and the number of students who attend Loyola. The small number of students reminded me of how small Freeport was. To this day, I can’t walk across campus without seeing at least three people that I know.

Q: What is your major and ideal future profession?

A: I’m majoring in management. Honestly, I really don’t know what I want my future profession to be, but hopefully with internships and help from the career center, I will be able to figure that out.

Q: You were a part of incredible teams at Freeport. What was your fondest high-school memory?

A: My fondest high-school memory in sports was probably winning WPIALs in volleyball my sophomore year. That was an amazing game with a great team, and I was very honored to be a part of that game and be able to contribute so much.

Q: What has made coach Tom Phillips so successful?

A: He allows the girls the opportunities to play almost all year long. This lets the girls really get comfortable playing with each other and get a ton of reps on the court, whether that’s on hard court or in the sand.

Q: You also lettered in swimming and track and field in high school. How did competing in those sports help you in volleyball?

A: I feel like those sports allowed me to have a lot of fun in high school. It allowed me to make friends while also staying competitive. I think that helped me have a better overall high-school experience.

Q:  Who is your favorite pro athlete?

A: Kerri Walsh Jennings is my favorite pro athlete. I follow her on Instagram and really like her posts about positivity and her life as an athlete. Also, I think it would be awesome to be a professional sand volleyball player who travels with the AVP to play tournaments around the United States.

Q: If you could bring back one cancelled TV show, what would it be?

A: It would be Bones.  I used to watch that show after school, and I thought it was really interesting.

Q: What is your favorite holiday?

A: Halloween. I love scary movies and dressing up as someone or something else.

Q: If you woke up as a millionaire tomorrow, what is the first thing you’d buy?

A: I would pay for a dinner with my family and I to celebrate.

Tags: Freeport