Top volleyball player juggles athletics and academics
Between traveling to volleyball matches, teaching her teammatesto two-step in the locker room and snapping candid shots from roadtrips, it’s no wonder junior outside hitter and businessmajor Beth Karasek is worried about getting her class workdone.
“I’m always e-mailing my professors saying,‘Please give me this much time to take my test. Please,God,'” Karasek said. “Every time you’resitting on the plane, you have a book. You’re reading forclass; you’re taking notes; you’re doing something justtrying to keep up.”
Karasek is more than keeping up on the court. Currently leadingthe volleyball team in attacks and digs, Karasek averages 3.78kills and 4.15 digs per game with a total 1,098 attacks and 403digs, helping her team maintain its status as seventh in the nationfor defense. However, she doesn’t see herself as aleader.
“You don‘t really think about that as you’replaying. It’s more like a team thing. I don’t look atit like I’m leading when my team is doing great. It’snot about me.” Karasek said.
She views her teammates as her best friends and describes thisyear as the best of her three with the team.
With hopes of making it to the NCAA championships this year,Karasek looks forward to continued success with the team and isthankful to be earning an education from SMU at the same time.After visiting the campus as a high school senior on a recruitingtrip, she said her choice was clear once she met the players andthe coach. Her decision was solely based on volleyball at the time.She says she didn’t look at the city or the school, just whoshe’d be playing with.
“Now that I’m here I really love the educationI’ll be getting and knowing that if I graduate from SMU as abusiness major where it’ll get me in life and whatit’ll get me in life. I’m pretty excited aboutthat,” she said.
When she’s not busy studying or practicing, Karasek keepsin touch with her sister Jane Anne, former volleyball player forthe University of Houston, and her mother and aunt, who also playedhigh school volleyball.
Karasek shared one of her freshman memories with the team whenthe Mustangs traveled to Houston where Karasek’s sisterplayed.
“I had played the whole season, but I messed up the firstkill and got taken out and never put back in. So I never really gotto play her,” Karasek said.
After begging her coach for a re-match her sophomore year,Karasek’s sister broke her elbow going for a ball the firstor second point of the game.
The two sisters, who played together in high school, have stillnever played against each other in a college game.
Karasek, a native of Caldwell, Texas, has play the sport sincethe fourth grade. In addition to playing for school teams, she alsoplayed in a church league. As a member of her high schoolvolleyball team, Karasek played in front of packed gyms withstanding room only.
It is quite a different experience for Karasek, coming from atown of 3,000 people to a campus of 10,000 students and averaging400 fans per game.
Karasek recalls her favorite game when the Mustangs traveled toHawaii playing to an audience of 8,500 people.
“Playing in front of all those people was just an amazingexperience. You get chills just standing there. It’s the typeof crowd that will cheer for you. They want you to do well,”Karasek said.
The volleyball team has its last home stand this week before theWAC championships in Reno, Nev. The team defeated the Baylor Bears3-1 on Wednesday night at Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs play UTEP at6 p.m. on Saturday in Moody Coliseum.
