Hochevar sets with winning in mind

By Lyndsey Shinoda
Daily Forty-Niner

Her mom had her holding a volleyball at the tender age of two, and now that Brittany Hochevar's all grown up, she is a force to be reckoned with.

The 6-foot-1 sophomore setter from Fowler, Colo. has been a driving force behind the Long Beach State women's volleyball team's success this season. And she wasn't even supposed to play here.

Hochevar was first recruited in the 8th grade by Penn State, and by the time she was nearing graduation from high school, Hochevar had eight moving boxes full of mail from recruiting colleges.

"After my home visits, I thought I'd go to Nebraska," Hochevar explained. "But after I took my visits, I came to Long Beach and it stole my heart. I was loyal to Long Beach."

She also brought Sarah Connor and Elisha Thomas with her, as the three were teammates on the U.S. Junior National Team.

"It was the unspoken truth that if one comes, we all come," Hochevar said. "On my recruiting trip, I realized the dynasty that Long Beach has, and I didn't want any other setter to be a part of that."

It comes as a surprise that Hochevar is only in her second season of setting.

"All my life, I played outside hitter," she said. "I knew that to compete internationally, I had to compete as a setter. I love the control, mind-set and responsibility."

Hochevar is averaging 11.97 assists per game. She has a feared jump serve, and leads the league in service aces, with .57 per game.

"My goal is to win, and I'm not going to back down to anybody," Hochevar said. "I carry the blunt of the blow. If we play great, it's because of the hitters, but if we play bad, it's because of me."

The odds of being a gifted athlete were with Hochevar, whose father was drafted by the Denver Nuggets and whose mother played volleyball and basketball for a Division II college. She also has two younger brothers.

"Ever since I was little, I knew that I'd be great at whichever path I took," Hochevar said. "I was always shooting to be the best."

The self-described perfectionist has several pre-game superstitions. She has to have her left ankle taped before her right and must have her jacket on the sixth chair with her bag behind it, signifying her jersey number.

Her work on the court transfers off the court and into the classroom. The undeclared major is leaning toward a degree in rhetorical studies or broadcast journalism. Hochevar said that ultimately, she would like to be a sports agent. Whatever her future holds, it will somehow involve the sport that she loves.

"I plan to play until I fall apart, and I'm shooting for 2004 in Athens," Hochevar said. "I'm the only one that can set my own boundaries. I've always swam upstream."

When Hochevar is off the court, she likes to sleep in, but when night comes, she likes to party and hang out with other athletes. She also does a lot of e-mailing and said that shopping is her weakness.

Despite unexpected losses and numerous injuries, Hochevar remains confident about her team's chances of going to the NCAA Championships.

"I'm a definite believer that we can pull it off," she said. "It will take whatever we have, all the guts and heart that we can muster up. As a team we just have to realize that individually, we can break, but together, there's nobody that can beat us."

There is no sign of Hochevar breaking any time in the near future.

Caroline Limuti/Daily Forty-Niner

Juggling is just one of setter Brittany Hochevar's talents.