Wisdom generally accompanies age. When the time comes for a team to turn to someone to lead it, the most seasoned veterans are the ones usually called upon.
For the Mississippi State volleyball squad, one girl stands alone with the mark of being the most experienced.
In a senior volleyball class of one, outside hitter Cristina Jucan will be charged with the task of leading and guiding the Bulldog volleyball program for one final year before she becomes an alumna of the team.
Jucan said she feels no pressure at all when it comes to being the leader on the team. Instead, she purely sees it as an opportunity.
“I’m comfortable,” Jucan said. “I just hope I can help the other girls do their best and be there for support.”
Jucan hails from Cluj, Romania, and is one of only two foreign players on the team. Teammate Ioana Demian is also from Romania. Jucan had to face the challenges of drastically changing cultures tacked onto all the other stresses being an NCAA student athlete entails. Overcoming language and cultural barriers added to Jucan’s struggles when she first arrived in America, but now she is able to focus primarily on volleyball and her studies.
Jucan is currently working on three degrees at Mississippi State in Spanish, French and graphic design. She said she would also like to get a master’s degree in foreign languages from MSU upon graduation.
As for what she plans on doing after her Mississippi State education is all over, Jucan said anyone’s guess is as good as hers.
“I haven’t planned anything,” Jucan said. “Everything for me happens spur-of-the-moment. Coming [to MSU], studying graphic design, all of that was spur-of-the-moment, so we’ll just see what happens.”
But the future isn’t Jucan’s main concern now. What she must focus on is the task at hand: leading the Bulldogs, heavily peppered with freshmen, to another successful season on the volleyball court.
MSU fifth-year head coach Tina Seals said she was unsure how much Jucan would be able to contribute on the court due to her recent nagging injury. However, the coaching staff has been pleasantly surprised.
“She hasn’t missed a practice yet,” Seals said. “It’s a miracle she’s been able to play this
pre-season.”
Despite her injury, Jucan was able to participate in Mississippi State’s beach volleyball action during the spring semester, partnering with injured teammate Stefanie Joyner.
“It’s funny, because everyone knew our team as the injured girls,” Jucan said. “But it was fun anyway, and we did well.”
Jucan said she has drawn a little more motivation for this season from a source that comes only once every four years.
While spending the summer overseas, Jucan said she was able to attend a pre-Olympics rally in Rome, where she saw many international athletes getting ready for the big event.
“What I observed mostly was all those athletes’ skills and their intangibles,” Jucan said. “Their level of commitment was very impressive.”
Jucan enters the season as the team leader in career kills (600), digs (429), total blocks (74), and double-doubles (18).
One flaw Jucan has been working on over the past few years is letting her emotions take over her on-court performance, which sometimes resulted in her performing below her full potential.
Seals said, however, she believes Jucan has finally put that behind her.
“She’s been at every practice this preseason and has worked very hard,” Seals said. “I haven’t seen any remnants of that in her work at all this year.”