Contact: Elliott Carr, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Nov. 7, 2016- Whether it's the matching tattoo she shares with her mom, her brother Joey who is a freshman on the baseball team here at North Central College, or her nine year old brother who always comes to her for advice and help, a strong connection with family is one of junior women's volleyball player Olivia Hanley's most valued principles.

The value of having a sibling who is also a student-athlete at North Central is not lost on the elementary education major from Crystal Lake, Ill. She realizes the benefit, saying "It works out a lot because we are really close, I can always go to him for advice and he always comes to me for advice."

Joey is not the only person she can turn to, as her mom serves as a role model. Working in sales and marketing in the entertainment industry, her overall work ethic, dedication and success is something Hanley is striving to replicate

"She's one of the strongest people I know and I strive to be her every day," proudly proclaims Hanley. "She's accomplished so much, she is so big in her industry and people have doubted her every day.

It's rare to talk to Hanley and not hear something family-related be brought up. Along with the tattoo she shares with her mom, she also has another tattoo the reads "Without struggle there is no progress" and was influenced by her grandmother.

"I got it at a time where I felt I couldn't get out of something, so I got it to remind myself to just keep pushing," she explains. "My grandma was really sick and school was really hard at that time. It was last year."

Student teaching next winter and spring, the quality of the education program at North Central, as well as the close proximity to her house were the primary reasons she chose to be a Cardinal.

While her family is the foundation of who she is as a person, Hanley has found her teammates at North Central to be a second family. Listing the friendships she's made as what she enjoys most about being a Cardinal. Hanley is also appreciative about how they have helped her grow and become an even better person.

"It's made me more of an open person… my teammates have definitely brought out the better side in me and made me step out of my comfort zone," she stated. "They made me better"

On the court, Hanley has been a major contributor for the Cardinals, and her attitude toward leadership saw her named team captain. She describes herself as one who leads by example and through her actions. "It's by the way I play," she says. "I lead and always put one hundred percent into practice and games, and I want that to translate to our new players."

The 2016 season saw her lead the team in digs with 453, and finished second in service aces with 32. However, true to her unselfish nature, Hanley's most cherished career memory to date is not an individual one, but all about the collective group instead.

In the 2015 season, the Cardinals staged a thrilling five-set comeback win against College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) foe Millikin University. In the fourth set, the Cardinals were down 17-10 and all seemed lost, but they kept their composure and came to win in a match that won't be forgotten about anytime soon. Beaming with excitement upon memory of that particular game, she articulates "I felt like we could do anything at that moment, and that we could beat any team and it was just so exciting."

Hanley has many accomplishments throughout several different moments in her life. Participating in soccer, gymnastics and tennis growing up, Hanley is accustomed to balancing multiple commitments at once.
 
Explaining how she fell in love with volleyball, she says "I did double sports when I was younger, so as I would go to different practices and when I was at volleyball I always wanted to be there, and never wanted to leave and when I was at my other sports I didn't have as much interest."

First playing the game at age 13, she was nervous and only played as an excuse to spend more time with her friends. Interestingly, she was also not always a libero; she started her career as an outside hitter until she stopped growing. Fondly looking back on those days, she says she loved the fact that as an outsider she was able to hit the ball and get kills.

That's not say volleyball didn't face some serious competition when it came to choosing which sport to pursue, given that she still has a passion for gymnastics, where she enjoyed the floor routines the most.

Away from volleyball, Hanley enjoys shopping, spending time with friends and vacationing to California and Florida with her family. Despite her affinity for coastal locations, don't expect her to venture too far out into the water.

"I am terrified of the ocean," uttered Hanley. "I don't like knowing what's out there, I'm not a big fish person and I don't want things swimming around me. I go to my knees and then I come out."

Hanley and her teammates concluded their season on Nov. 1 with a record of 14-16 overall. Hanley and her teammates will be giving their bodies some much-needed time for rest and recovery, and will begin off-season workouts in the coming months.