Zoë Nightingale was a natural behind the net.
Throughout her fledgling volleyball career, her coaches never thought twice of putting her at any other position other than middle blocker.
“I was 6-foot-3 in eighth grade, so they put the tall girl in the middle, so I’ve never played any other position, except middle,” Nightingale said. “I’ve never even hit a ball outside – even at practice – till I was like 15.”
After a storied career at St. Francis High School in Sacramento, two injuries at the middle blocker position opened the doors for her debut in a Bruin jersey in the 2011 season opener against Quinnipiac.
It was what she had to offer on the court, however, that kept her in UCLA’s lineup.
“She was very fortunate in the sense that there were two senior middles that were coming off of surgery and were not cleared to play. So Zoë kind of got thrown into the fire early,” said coach Michael Sealy. “But it was fortunate for us that she was talented enough to step in and play right away.”
In her first year, Nightingale established herself as a regular on UCLA’s team, playing in 30 of 36 games and starting 25.
“It was definitely a lot of pressure back then, because it was a team that had a lot of prominent seniors,” Nightingale said. “Being a freshman and playing, I felt like I really needed to perform.”
And she did.
Even when she was placed within the pressure cooker of the 2011 NCAA championship match against a then-No. 3 Illinois team, Nightingale once again seemed to be in her element.
“I kind of felt like I was having a good day to start,” Nightingale said. “That kind of pressure just drives me for some reason. I wouldn’t imagine myself to be that kind of player, but it does.”
At the Alamodome in San Antonio, in front of a crowd of more than 13,000, Nightingale put an exclamation mark on her freshman season. She posted a then-career high 11 blocks and eight kills to help her team to an NCAA championship.
Now as a senior, Nightingale will begin her final run at an NCAA Tournament with a first round matchup against LIU Brooklyn. It’ll also be a chance for her to relive the moment of starting in a NCAA championship match with a new team.
“I think it’s just an inspiration for every single freshman to know and look up to her in that (championship) game, especially like I did,” said freshman outside hitter Reily Buechler, who watched the 2011 title game prior to becoming a Bruin. “I was like ‘wow, that’s incredible that a freshman can do that.’”
Players on the 2011 UCLA women’s volleyball team described the Bruins’ title-winning experience at the Alamodome as “surreal.”
But one season later, reality hit the Bruins during their title defense.
The then-defending champions started the 2012 NCAA tournament on the right foot with a 3-0 sweep over LIU Brooklyn, but it was in a second round matchup against Michigan State where UCLA’s title hopes took a turn for the worse.
“Michigan State just snuck up on us and we were all just standing there like, ‘What is happening?’ Because we were just looking past to where we would go the next week.” Nightingale said.
Instead of bouncing back from the 3-1 upset, the Bruins were dealt a harsher reality check during Nightingale’s junior season. A 15-15 overall record and 6-14 conference record in 2013 meant the program would take a hiatus from the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years.
But it also gave the player who had won it all during her freshman season a new perspective on how to grow.
“I think we just really changed a lot as a team,” Nightingale said. “Knowing what it felt like not going to the tournament made us push and really appreciate every win we got, and now, appreciate going to the tournament, which years before we’d have been like, ‘Tournament time, whatever. Let’s go on to the next game.’”
As the most experienced active player on UCLA’s roster with 118 career matches played, Nightingale brings a veteran presence that watches over the middle of the Bruins’ side of the net.
“It’s kind of exciting knowing that every game could be your last, when before it was just my last game of the season, but now it could be my last one ever,” Nightingale said. “I think it’s going to drive the seniors to push harder than we have before.”
Starting Friday, the volleyball player who said she enjoys the “highs and lows” of the sport, and has experienced her fair share of peaks and valleys during her four years in Westwood, will have one last shot to help shape the final note of her UCLA career.
She sure could notch along with these attractive players.