Senior Brianna D’Errico has been an essential player for the volleyball team throughout her two years at Ithaca. While in serve receive, she waits on the balls of her feet, never remaining stagnant, anticipating the perfect pass to give to her setter. She dives and gives everything she has in order to provide the defense necessary to leave her opponents bewildered.  

Though the volleyball season has recently met its end, senior captain Brianna D’Errico is nowhere near finished. It is evident by the constant smile on her face that her love for the game is based on nothing more than pure passion, and that passion is what contributes to her overall motivation and drive.

Growing up in Byron, N.Y., volleyball had always been an integral part of D’Errico’s life. She said it’s her family that is responsible for teaching her the essentials of the game, while also providing her with never-ending support. Both of her parents are volleyball coaches, and her father is a top-rated official in New York.

“I pretty much grew up in a volleyball gym since I was born,” D’Errico said.

D’Errico’s sister, Alyssa, whose work ethic and motivation she said she emulates, plays on the Penn State University women’s volleyball team. Her mother, Cindy D’Errico, was even a member of the U.S. National Team in 1977, and she said she had always encouraged her daughters to follow their hearts.

“We just always had them in the gym all the time,” Cindy D’Errico said. “As a parent, you want to expose them to a variety of things and always encourage them to pick what they want to do the most.”

Though volleyball seems to run in her blood, D’Errico’s true passion that she had followed throughout her life had always been soccer. D’Errico opted to play soccer in high school over volleyball, but she had played on a club volleyball team since she was eight. She had planned on pursuing soccer in college, until an accident forced her to change direction.

Three days before D’Errico was to begin her senior year of high school, she was in a near-death car accident.

D’Errico spent the first three weeks of her senior year in the hospital with a broken right femur, a broken wrist, two broken ribs that caused a punctured lung to collapse, and a lacerated liver and spleen, which ultimately caused internal bleeding.

The doctors told her they didn’t think she would be able to participate in any sports her senior year, but she was determined to prove them wrong. She went on to play in the second half of her basketball season and competed in her entire track season. However, when she came to college, she had to make a decision.

“I decided it was easier and healthier for my body not to play soccer in college, and that’s when I decided to play volleyball,” she said.

She had played volleyball for Monroe Community College in Rochester before transferring to Ithaca and playing for the Bombers. Though volleyball might not have been her first love, when she’s on the court, no one would know.

“Brianna was one of the hardest workers on the team, and she led by example both on and off the court,” freshman Chelsea Hayes said. “She was a very passionate player and always gave the team 100 percent.”

D’Errico is the only senior that will be graduating this year, and her void will be a tough one to fill. The only regret she has was that the team didn’t qualify for the Empire 8 Championships. However, she said volleyball is a team sport and though the team fell short, it is not always the win-loss record that determines success.

“The most successful teams were not always the most skilled but the teams with the most heart and desire to accept the roles that would be best for the overall team success,” D’Errico said. “One of my past coaches once said, ‘It’s amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.’”

Being a captain has given D’Errico the leadership attributes needed for the real world. The end of her collegiate volleyball career can be seen as bittersweet — though one door is closing, D’Errico said she sees volleyball in her future.

D’Errico said she plans to attend a graduate school to obtain her master’s in exercise science after graduation this spring. She also plans to return to a job at PowerCore Athletics, a sports performance training company in Webster, N.Y., to work with and train athletes.

“It’s definitely going to be a change, and I still don’t think it has totally hit me yet,” D’Errico said. “But this is nowhere near the end of my volleyball career. I plan on continuing to play for a long time to come and potentially plan on coaching.”

D’Errico was able to overcome hardships with a strong sense of determination. Cindy D’Errico said her daughter’s hard work was the biggest determining factor in D’Errico getting to where she is today.

“I always say things happen for a reason,” she said. “It’s hard to get through them, but with any challenge put before you, it makes you a better person and just able to appreciate life.”