Hayley Todd knows when the game turns serious. As soon as she hears the ‘crazy voice’ of Mindy Stanislovaitis, she knows the intensity has turned up a notch.

‘There are certain points in certain games when you just get really, really intense, and Mindy has this crazy voice that comes out,’ Todd said. ‘And so that’s when you know that the game is, like, really serious. When Mindy’s crazy voice comes out.’

But those moments are about the only time when Stanislovaitis, a senior on the women’s volleyball team, is out to get the attention of her teammates. Most of the time, she’s happy when they get the attention.

‘It’s been great to get recognition this year,’ Stanislovaitis said. ‘It’s something that hasn’t happened to me pretty much in my entire career, so that’s been awesome, but I’m just as happy when the other girls play well.’

Still, it’s been hard to ignore Stanislovaitis’ play so far this season. The team has played in four tournaments, and Stanislovaitis has made the all-tournament team in half of them.

So even if the individual records don’t matter so much to Stanislovaitis, they’ve been a huge part in getting the team off to its 18-1 record start.

Stanislovaitis’ rise to the top has, in a way, mirrored that of her team’s. Last year, SU finished fifth in league play, and in the two years before that, it placed eighth, then sixth. Stanislovaitis, meanwhile, has been somewhat of a surprise this year after playing in just 22 and 17 matches the past two years.

Personally, she has dealt with injuries here and there that have stopped her from getting consistent playing time. This year, though, she is fully healthy. And that has led to her breakout. A lot of the work she has put in the past three years, she said, is coming out now.

‘I have dealt with a lot of injuries these past couple years,’ Stanislovaitis said. ‘This year I’m just trying to be tough, play through as much as I can. Just trying to do the best I can.’

Whatever she is doing is working. There were the two tournaments (Samford and Kent State) in which she made the all-tournament teams, and more recently, against Georgetown in the Big East opener on Friday, she led the team with 11 kills. 

Stanislovaitis has teamed up with Todd to form an imposing on-court duo. The two are roommates and have been together for four years, and their on-court chemistry has helped make the offense a powerful one.

‘I think we communicate well,’ Todd said. ‘It’s nice to know that if the ball’s going to anyone on the court, there is a high chance that they’re going to put it away, and that’s just a comfort for the whole team.’

And because of the departure of several offensive players from last season, Stanislovaitis has gotten a chance to be one of the stars up front.

Stanislovaitis has received that recognition this year, unlike in years past, so she’s still getting used to it. But that doesn’t mean her leadership abilities aren’t there, in addition to her obvious playing skills.

‘I think, with some players leaving the team, we got more room to show what we were able to do,’ junior outside hitter Noemie Lefebvre said. ‘And to step up and take some leadership. I think Mindy’s doing a great job at just stepping her level up and being there for the team. She’s just more dominant this year because she has the opportunity to really be upfront, a really important player on our team.’

Important? Yes. Attention-seeker? Not so much.

That is just fine with the team. Her play speaks for itself. And of course, they know when the game is about to get intense. They just listen for that high-pitched voice. Because besides those moments, they know Stanislovaitis is more than happy to flip the attention on them.

‘I’m not really one of those people that’s for individual recognition,’ Stanislovaitis said. ‘It’s never been the top of my list, so the further the team goes, the happier I am. Those nominations don’t matter as much to me.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on September 26, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu