Home Away from Home for International Eagles

Senior outside hitter Sol Calvete, graduate outside hitter Lynn Braakhuis, freshman outside hitter Alinda Dersjant and freshman outside hitter Xinyu Xao are each from different places around the globe, including Buenos Aires, Argentina, Coesfeld, Germany, The Netherlands and Beijing, China. Despite being oceans away from home, these four international student-athletes have found a family here at Chesnut Hill with the Boston College volleyball team.

Becoming an Eagle

Before coming to college, Calvete knew that she wanted an opportunity to combine academics with athletics at a high level. "In Argentina, it's really difficult to play a sport then be able to be on track with school," Calvete explained. "With the national team, I would miss three or four weeks because we travelling and practicing, so it was really hard to come back and be on track with school. It was such a new experience coming to the states, getting to know a different country and travelling around the country was something that I was looking for."

Dersjant similarly wanted to be in a place where school and volleyball held a top priority. "For me, it was the adventure of combining volleyball at a very high level and academics at a very high level," Dersjant said. "In The Netherlands, it's so difficult to do because you have to arrange everything for yourself, like if you're playing for a club versus here, playing for the university. Besides that, I just wanted to go abroad so this was a great opportunity to combine them."

Braakhuis, who completed her Bachelor's Degree in The Netherlands, wanted to experience a different culture. "I saw what it's like to be a part of college and college sports and it's so huge so I wanted to experience it myself," Braakhuis explained. "This was just a great opportunity"

Yao was looking forward to the opportunity to meet new people at The Heights. "A lot of things like making friends, studying and doing volleyball is different from doing that in China," Yao explained. "The reason I came here was so I could play volleyball at a high level and I could make friends from different countries, not only from America, but from Holland and The Netherlands and Argentina, Korea or Japan."

A Second Family

The 17 girls on the volleyball team have created a team culture that is encouraging and accepting. Dersjant knows that the support of her teammates has helped ease her transition to college. "When I first came here, I felt very clumsy," Dersjant admitted. "I didn't know what was happening around me and I didn't know how things worked. The team really helped in my process of getting to know the college, getting to know how things worked on the team or worked at practice. They help you make sure you don't make the beginner's mistakes."

Yao is also appreciative of the help she has received from her teammates both on and off the court. "At first, I was really worried about making friends here," Yao said. "After coming here though, it's like I'm their younger sister and they take care of me a lot and encourage me mentally."

Braakhuis knows and appreciates that she can always turn to her teammates for assistance. "The team definitely helped because there are so many questions and it's nice to know that there's always someone you can ask," Braakhuis said.

Cavete had the advantage of learning from fellow international players when she arrived at BC and she hopes to help underclassmen now the same way that former players supported her. "I remember my freshman year Sarah [Mendes] was on the team and Barbi [Gonzalez]," Cavete said. "They were the two internationals on the team so they were a huge support for me. For me, it's nice to be able to help the freshmen through the transition because I feel like they have the same questions that I had when I was a freshman."

More Than a Coach

Head coach Chris Campbell and assistant coaches Allison Keeley and Kin Yun have also supported the international athletes with their transition to BC. "They don't just see us a player, but also as a person," Braakhuis said. "It's not just getting better on the court. It's also getting to know the plays and finding your way here, so they've definitely helped with that."

New to campus as a freshman, Yao is particularly grateful for the help and support that the coaches have provided. "When I'm upset with volleyball, [assistant coach Allison Keeley] will encourage me and [head coach Chris Campbell] will, too," Yao said. "They'll give me direction to play better, but they'll also drive me and Alinda to get groceries. They take care of me, not only in volleyball, but in life and studying."

Team Dynamic

Having players from a diversity of backgrounds has created a strong and accepting team chemistry. "For American players, it's nice to have international players on the team so they get to know different cultures and, for us, it's also good to be surrounded by American players," Calvete explained. "We get to exchange different perspectives and things that are particular for different countries. It's nice to have diversity in the team."

Yao looks forward to practicing with not only her teammates, but her friends every day. "It's not just volleyball, but also the teamwork and spending time together," Yao explained. "We enjoy this sport and we're all working together to achieve our goal, to win the game."

The Boston College volleyball team may be from a variety of places, but their differences have only made them a stronger team both on and off the court.

Home Away from Home for International Eagles

Players Mentioned

Lynn Braakhuis

Sol Calvete

Alinda Dersjant

Related Videos