Wherever Jessica Fine goes, she seems to be surrounded by family. Over the course of her four seasons on the UCLA women’s volleyball team, Fine has created a sense of family within the Bruins. In addition to her volleyball family, Fine’s actual family is just a quick commute away from campus. Fine credits the support of both her family and her volleyball family as instrumental to her athletic success.
For the past two seasons, Fine has established herself as the starting libero for UCLA. As the leader of the back row, Fine leads UCLA with 485 digs this season. In a larger context, Fine ranks third in the Pac-10 with 4.66 digs per set. And as of this past weekend, Fine is now a member of the 1,000-career-digs list for UCLA.
Though Fine has reached such a high level of success, she never expected to compete in arguably the nation’s top conference, let alone for UCLA.
Growing up in Tarzana, Fine came from a self-described Trojan family. Most of her family had attended USC, and Fine was raised listening to the Trojan fight song.
However, Fine’s volleyball idol was Chrissie Zartman, who was a defensive specialist at UCLA from 2001 until 2004. While Fine loved seeing Zartman in action, the idea of playing for the Bruins seemed like a far reach.
“I remember watching Chrissie Zartman play, and I remember telling my parents, “˜I want to be her. I want to go to UCLA and play volleyball just like her,'” Fine said. “Of course, I didn’t think that was possible because I am really short, and college volleyball is not necessarily for people of my stature.”
Throughout her volleyball career, Fine has gotten used to be being one of the shorter players on the roster. At 5 feet 6 inches, Fine is tied for the second-shortest player for the Bruins. Despite her stature, Fine said she continued to play volleyball when she was younger because she fell in love with the sport.
“I was this little tiny pip-squeak, and I was on the two’s team,” Fine said. “I was terrible, but I loved it, and I stuck with it.”
While tall players are given an advantage in the front row, Fine said she benefits from her height as well. Sometimes opponents underestimate her skills because she is short, and they are caught off guard when she serves them the ball or passes anything they hit her way.
Fine has accomplished a lot during the past two seasons with the Bruins, but it was not always clear that she would become the team’s starting libero or one of its leaders. While Fine is currently in her fourth season on the team, she is a fifth-year senior at UCLA because she skipped playing volleyball for one year.
When Fine was a sophomore in 2005, she decided to take a break from the volleyball team due to her need for shoulder surgery and a rough patch she had with coach Andy Banachowski.
“Andy and I did not exactly see eye to eye, and we decided that it was probably better for me not to play,” Fine said.
“We agreed that it was a good thing for her to take the year off,” Banachowski said. “She had some shoulder surgery at that time and I think it was maybe a reality check for her as to whether she really wanted to make the commitment to this team.”
After her year away from the Bruins, Fine made the decision to rejoin the team for the 2006 season. She gained valuable insight about what it takes to play volleyball and eventually got back into the swing of things.
“I had to have a lot thicker skin and be a lot tougher,” Fine said. “I came back and I still wasn’t in good graces yet. It takes a lot to earn Andy’s trust, so I had to work really hard to get that back. But Andy and I definitely have a great relationship now.”
Out of everyone on the team, Banachowski was especially glad that Fine made the decision to rejoin the team.
“To her credit and my admiration, she did make that commitment to the team and has been an outstanding member of the team,” he said. “She has tremendously exceeded my expectations, and it’s a tribute to her dedication and desire to be a part of the volleyball team.”
With two weeks left until the first round of the NCAA Tournament, UCLA concludes its regular season this Friday against USC. Following tradition, Fine and the rest of the seniors will bid their farewell to Pauley Pavilion during the Senior Night ceremony.
As a fifth-year history student, this is Fine’s last quarter at UCLA. Thinking back at everything she has experienced as a member of the volleyball team, Fine said she will miss her teammates the most.
“We had a talk at practice, and we are realizing we will never get to play with this group of girls again,” Fine said. “Relationships I have made, I cannot replace ever.”
Banachowski has noticed that Fine’s relationship with her teammates has helped her ability to be a leader on the court and find selflessness in her everyday life.
“She is very involved with everyone on the team,” Banachowski said. “She’s very sociable, but she has also turned that into a very caring attitude about her teammates. She’s gotten to the point where it’s not all about her; it’s about the other people that are involved in her life.”
While Fine has been focused on the volleyball season since the preseason started in August, her time has also been consumed by family life. With three nieces and two nephews, whom she adores, Fine is constantly visiting relatives.
Just as the season began, Fine’s 9-month-old niece was hospitalized at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA. Fine has been with her family every step of the way as her niece is currently undergoing treatment on her liver. More than ever, Fine is appreciative that UCLA is located close to her family.
“I could not imagine if I went to school somewhere else,” Fine said. “Andy and my teammates and the other coaches have been an unbelievable support system.”
With her time as a Bruin coming to an end, Fine will be saying goodbye to the family she has known for four seasons. With exactly 1,000 career digs to her name and counting, Fine does not attribute her successes solely to herself but rather those who have been beside her on the court.
“None of us on the team could have accomplished anything without the rest of the teammates,” Fine said. “They are very important to me and not just on the court, but in life.”
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