SE: Zsofia Gyimes Cherishing Final Season, New Role with K-State Volleyball
Nov 01, 2018 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
One day in the fall of 2014, Zsofia Gyimes was on the internet and went to look at the AVCA Top 25 Poll. Growing up in Budapest, Hungary, she wasn't exactly a fan of one specific school on the list, however.
"I was just randomly looking at schools," Gyimes recalled.
Her search was random, she added, in the sense that she "had no idea what she was looking for." But it was a search.
"I knew I wanted to come to the U.S. to play because I wanted to keep playing high level volleyball while I'm in school as well," Gyimes, the 2014 Hungarian Junior Female Player of the Year, said. "I was just in the dark trying to find something."
Down the road a bit, Gyimes (pronounced GHEE-mesh) received a message from Lilla Porubek, a fellow Budapest native who played for K-State from 2010 to 2013. Porubek had heard through the grapevine that Gyimes wanted to play collegiately in the United States, so she offered to sit down with Gyimes on one of her trips back to Hungary.
Gyimes' reaction?
"I was, like, 'Please! That would be great.' We met at home. We sat down and talked, and I literally asked so many questions," Gyimes said. "She kind of made me fall in love with it. Basically, that's how I found out about K-State."
From there, Gyimes reached out to K-State head coach Suzie Fritz, whose 2014 team was ranked in the top 25 for five weeks and finished in the NCAA Tournament. The two exchanged emails and then a few Skype calls that ultimately led Gyimes to where she is now, which is a senior middle blocker for K-State who ranks fourth in the Big 12 in service aces, with six regular season matches left in her career.
"I get emotional a lot about it because it's been such a crazy journey and now that it's coming to the end it's, like, 'Wait, what? I'm not ready,'" Gyimes said. "I'm going to miss it like crazy. Every workout, every practice I come to now it's, like, 'I get to be here for a few more days.' Sometimes it's annoying to wake up early and go to weights and you're struggling, but I don't have any of that. I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it because I get to do it."
Early in her K-State career, it was a struggle. Sure, Gyimes spoke English fairly well before she got to the United States. But as she's quick to point out, volleyball vocabulary was not included in those classes.
"I didn't know what a pass was," she laughed. "I think I knew set and maybe kill, but that's about it."
There was also the style of volleyball she had to become familiar with. Gyimes said the pace in the United State is much faster than the European style she grew up playing. The substitution rules are different as well. In a nutshell, she said, more subs are allowed in the NCAA rules. This benefitted Gyimes, especially this season when she's become a serving weapon for K-State.
"For me, I couldn't be a serving specialist at home," Gyimes said. "So, it gives me a chance to do what I love."
Using a "jump float" serve she's mastered over the years, Gyimes can be someone to come in and immediately disrupt a team's rhythm or, even better, score a point. She's had multiple aces in five matches this season. K-State won in four of those occurrences.
It's a unique role for a middle blocker to be in but, when thrown into it in K-State's exhibition in August, Gyimes bought into it immediately.
"I love it. I decided that I don't know what chances I'm going to get to play this year, but I'm going to be positive with whatever happens," she said, with a team-leading 22 aces going into Saturday's home battle against West Virginia at 7 p.m. "This way I can actually have an impact on the team and actually help the team. I can go in and actually talk to people, which is all I could hope for, so I really like that. I really wanted to be a good leader this year, being a senior, so that gives me a chance to do that, too."
Gyimes' motivation to provide a positive on-court impact stems partly from her love of the game and natural competitiveness. But her love for K-State plays a role as well. She wants to return as much of it as she can, while she can, for everything she's been given from Wildcat fans, her teammates and coaches while she's lived 5,000-plus miles from her home.
"It's just been so meaningful. It's a huge part of my life, and I don't know how to put that into words. We literally have the best fans in the Big 12. I love it so much. I don't know if I'll ever play in front of so many amazing fans again," Gyimes said. "The coaches are so, so great. My teammates, too. It really was like a family."
One day in the fall of 2014, Zsofia Gyimes was on the internet and went to look at the AVCA Top 25 Poll. Growing up in Budapest, Hungary, she wasn't exactly a fan of one specific school on the list, however.
"I was just randomly looking at schools," Gyimes recalled.
Her search was random, she added, in the sense that she "had no idea what she was looking for." But it was a search.
"I knew I wanted to come to the U.S. to play because I wanted to keep playing high level volleyball while I'm in school as well," Gyimes, the 2014 Hungarian Junior Female Player of the Year, said. "I was just in the dark trying to find something."
Down the road a bit, Gyimes (pronounced GHEE-mesh) received a message from Lilla Porubek, a fellow Budapest native who played for K-State from 2010 to 2013. Porubek had heard through the grapevine that Gyimes wanted to play collegiately in the United States, so she offered to sit down with Gyimes on one of her trips back to Hungary.
Gyimes' reaction?
"I was, like, 'Please! That would be great.' We met at home. We sat down and talked, and I literally asked so many questions," Gyimes said. "She kind of made me fall in love with it. Basically, that's how I found out about K-State."
From there, Gyimes reached out to K-State head coach Suzie Fritz, whose 2014 team was ranked in the top 25 for five weeks and finished in the NCAA Tournament. The two exchanged emails and then a few Skype calls that ultimately led Gyimes to where she is now, which is a senior middle blocker for K-State who ranks fourth in the Big 12 in service aces, with six regular season matches left in her career.
"I get emotional a lot about it because it's been such a crazy journey and now that it's coming to the end it's, like, 'Wait, what? I'm not ready,'" Gyimes said. "I'm going to miss it like crazy. Every workout, every practice I come to now it's, like, 'I get to be here for a few more days.' Sometimes it's annoying to wake up early and go to weights and you're struggling, but I don't have any of that. I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it because I get to do it."
Early in her K-State career, it was a struggle. Sure, Gyimes spoke English fairly well before she got to the United States. But as she's quick to point out, volleyball vocabulary was not included in those classes.
"I didn't know what a pass was," she laughed. "I think I knew set and maybe kill, but that's about it."
There was also the style of volleyball she had to become familiar with. Gyimes said the pace in the United State is much faster than the European style she grew up playing. The substitution rules are different as well. In a nutshell, she said, more subs are allowed in the NCAA rules. This benefitted Gyimes, especially this season when she's become a serving weapon for K-State.
"For me, I couldn't be a serving specialist at home," Gyimes said. "So, it gives me a chance to do what I love."
Using a "jump float" serve she's mastered over the years, Gyimes can be someone to come in and immediately disrupt a team's rhythm or, even better, score a point. She's had multiple aces in five matches this season. K-State won in four of those occurrences.
It's a unique role for a middle blocker to be in but, when thrown into it in K-State's exhibition in August, Gyimes bought into it immediately.
"I love it. I decided that I don't know what chances I'm going to get to play this year, but I'm going to be positive with whatever happens," she said, with a team-leading 22 aces going into Saturday's home battle against West Virginia at 7 p.m. "This way I can actually have an impact on the team and actually help the team. I can go in and actually talk to people, which is all I could hope for, so I really like that. I really wanted to be a good leader this year, being a senior, so that gives me a chance to do that, too."
Gyimes' motivation to provide a positive on-court impact stems partly from her love of the game and natural competitiveness. But her love for K-State plays a role as well. She wants to return as much of it as she can, while she can, for everything she's been given from Wildcat fans, her teammates and coaches while she's lived 5,000-plus miles from her home.
"It's just been so meaningful. It's a huge part of my life, and I don't know how to put that into words. We literally have the best fans in the Big 12. I love it so much. I don't know if I'll ever play in front of so many amazing fans again," Gyimes said. "The coaches are so, so great. My teammates, too. It really was like a family."
Players Mentioned
MB
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