Seattle Pacific star outside hitter holds on to her competitive drive

Alyssa Given knows she has led a privileged life.

After all, the star senior outside hitter for Seattle Pacific is exactly where she wants to be.

Given has a near-perfect GPA and is studying to be a nurse — a profession she's loved since she was 12.

Just as important, she gets to play her favorite sport for the 20th-ranked Falcons volleyball team (3-1) with a "great group of girls."

The daughter of two All-American athletes — her father Joe in fastpitch softball and her mother Julie in diving — it's no surprise Given is the best player on the squad, according to her coach Chris Johnson, nor that she's had a remarkably trouble-free ride to her senior season.

"I definitely think I've been lucky," the 21-year-old from Salinas, Calif., said in a telephone interview this week while traveling with the team in California.

But Given has created some of her own luck with hard work.

"Alyssa's work ethic is probably better than anyone else's on the team," Johnson said. "She's very self-motivated."

Two days a week this season Given trains full time at a hospital for nursing school, which means practices are moved to fit her schedule.

"It creates a scheduling dilemma," Johnson said, "but she's got a rigorous load even if she wasn't playing volleyball. It's pretty incredible."

To Given, though, it's been worth it — particularly for moments like last season's 3-1 defeat of rival Western Washington for the outright GNAC championship.

Given posted 32 kills in that match — a conference and school record.

"I was totally shocked after the game when I found out [about the kills record]," Given said. "I think having the rivalry there both teams just left it all on the court."

Yet she didn't leave her competitive drive on that Bellingham court and take a victory lap during her senior season.

Given, 5 feet 11, worked with a personal trainer this summer to increase her vertical leap by two inches — she can jump to 9 feet, 8 inches now — and hone her skills in anticipation of her last season playing competitive volleyball.

As a parting present, Given hopes to lead the Falcons past the first game of the NCAA regionals. And then, of course, there's the matter of being the third All-American in the family.

"It would be a great honor," said Given, who received honorable-mention All-American last year, "but it's not something that's within my control necessarily.

"It's not about the big awards, but it's about the memories and all the other things that come along with the sport."

For Given, who has dedicated her life to helping others in need, perhaps her greatest privilege is the gift of perspective.