Indiana University Athletics
Versatile Volleyball Newcomer Gosnell Offers ‘Different Energy’
5/28/2020 11:42:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Try to limit Grae Gosnell at your own risk. Indiana's do-it-all volleyball newcomer will push to prove you wrong.
"I like to try new things," she says. "I like to put myself out there and see what I can do."
From singing the National Anthem at volleyball tournaments to playing the drums and the piano, to competing in martial arts, swimming, track and volleyball, this South Carolina standout constantly seeks to challenge herself.
Tell her that, at 5-11 in a sport that loves height, she's too short and she'll tell you to, well, stick it.
"Everyone was telling me that continuing my career in college on the outside was crazy," she says. "I won't let other people define what I'm going to do. It's up to me."
The Hoosiers, poised to make a major Big Ten jump in coach Steve Aird's third season, could reap a big reward.
"Grae has a different energy," Aird says. "Upon first seeing Grae, our staff quickly identified that we needed her in our program. Not to undervalue her volleyball skills, but she is the type of human being and competitor that makes every organization better."
Let's start with singing.
"I like to sing," Gosnell says. "I'm not saying I'm good at it, but there was a time that almost every volleyball tournament I went to, no matter the audience size, whether it was a small town in North Carolina or a national qualifier, I sang the National Anthem. I put myself out there. I'd tell (tournament organizers), 'Hey, I'd like to audition.'"
Then she'd nail the audition.
Gosnell says she has sung in front of as many as 20,000 people during a national tournament in Florida.
"That was exciting. I have this dream of being famous. I put myself out there in as many opportunities as I can to make that happen. I think it will happen one day."
Could that include a TV show opportunity such as The Voice?
"Maybe someday," she says with a laugh.
Gosnell, a 5-11 outside hitter, isn't IU's top-rated recruit (that honor goes to No. 32 Tommi Stockham) or the tallest (6-4 Leyla Blackwell) or the most decorated (Blackwell and Savanna Kjolhede are Under Armor All-Americas) in this No. 15-ranked class, but she brings an athletic versatility and drive hat's hard to beat.
Consider her mix of martial arts, swimming, track and volleyball. It helped hone her athleticism and competitiveness, and you can't have enough of that to thrive in the Big Ten, the nation's best volleyball conference.
"She is a very hard worker,"Aird says. "She will push everyone around her and will be committed to the team's success well before her own."
Martial arts provided a toughness and skill set in case self-defense ever became necessary.
"When I did martial arts," Gosnell says, "I needed a way, if something were to happen, not go all jujitsu in the middle of the street, but know how to protect myself. It was more mental toughness when I was growing up. That was something that I struggled with."
Swimming gave her a potential college scholarship option -- she was good enough to earn all-state recognition at Mount Pleasant High School -- if volleyball didn't work out.
"If you have the option to swim in college or play volleyball in college, and having people see that, it doesn't close off opportunities," Gosnell says. "Pushing myself gave me options so if I wanted to change my mind or protect myself or train in ways open, I could."
In the end volleyball, with its team component, won out.
"I love swimming. I still do it. Marital arts and track were great, but they were super individual. With volleyball, there's nothing more I love to see than someone else smile or work just as hard as I am. Being on the court with other people who want to win as badly as you do, is the best feeling. That pushed all the other sports away. Being a part of a whole is super satisfying, and that's what drove me toward volleyball."
What drove Gosnell to Indiana?
The people.
"The coaches were super welcoming," she says. "The players were super kind. They were positive and good. They'd give you the shirt off their backs. They made me feel there was no other place I belonged. That Indiana was where I needed to be."
What drove IU coaches to offer her a scholarship?
In part, it was her dance moves.
Hoosier assistant coach Dan Gwitt was scouting a volleyball tournament and saw Grosnell dancing on the sidelines while warming up for a match. That caught his attention. Her play caught more of it.
"I was just vibing out to my music," she says.
What did she vibe to?
"I don't remember. I listen to all music. It was probably something weird. I just love a good beat."
Gwitt was intrigued enough to contact Aird.
"He told Steve he needed to see me play right away," Gosnell says.
Aird did, a scholarship offer came quickly, and a Gosnell commitment soon followed.
"She has a live arm, great defensive instincts and can pass the ball," Aird says. "She will impact our program in a variety of ways. We are thrilled she chose IU."
Thrill includes academics. Gosnell plans to major in medicine with a goal of becoming a doctor.
"To be able to help people is a priority," she says.
Gosnell says she's "excited" to be part of the highest-rated recruiting class in IU volleyball history.
"I'm super flattered that they chose me. I'm so thankful for the opportunity.
"They saw something in me that I could be on the same playing field as those other girls in the Big Ten. I hope I can live up to it."
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