Olivia Personeni '19 Recruiting Profile

My name is Olivia Personeni and I am a 11th grader at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD, graduation class of 2019. I am varsity letter winner since my Freshman year, starter all round OH since my Freshman year and Captain of the team since Junior year. I am a 6' OH/OPP, currently playing club for VA Juniors Volleyball Club on their 16 Elite team (#11). 

I am exploring my college options and I am very interested in attending and playing volleyball at college level. 

I was born in Milan, Italy and have relocated with my family to Bethesda, MD. I am an Italian citizen, fluent in three languages (Italian, English and Spanish), currently have a 4.0 GPA and 4.9 weighted GPA and attend academically the top HS in the state of MD. I am still undecided on a major but I do have a passion for international policies, social studies, architecture/design, and science. I am part of the international club, the Italian club, and have also attended multiple Model UN conferences and last year was part of the Debate Club (the first in the Country). I was also part of  “We the People” competition where my essay won the top award. Last year over the summer I volunteered in a Casa Familia (orphanage) in Honduras with Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH International) - Francesca Rava Foundation. Rancho Santa Fe' hosts 400 boys and girls and provides a permanent family and home for kids who no longer have a family or cannot live with them. It has been a fantastic experience and I am still helping the Foundation in any ways I can, doing fund raising, telling stories about these kids and how resilient they are to other people and students in my community, keeping in contact with some of them through distance adoption programs. When I am not studying or playing volleyball I love to play the drums, ski and play tennis.

My parents and coaches have instilled values in me that have helped me achieve athletically, and academically, including discipline, resilience, commitment, hard work and the ability to achieve under pressure.  Below are some of my volleyball credentials. 

I have been playing competitive volleyball for 4 years. I was a starting 6 rotation OH for my varsity HS team as a ninth grader this past season and again this season as a junior. I am Walt Whitman HS team captain. As a freshman I was selected All conference for Montgomery county - W. Wotton HS. My club team got second at Nationals in the USA division; won Cap Classic and NEQ in 2017. We got three bids for Nationals in American, USA and National division and chose to play USA. After Nationals, I was included among the 'Supernovas' of Prep-volleyball! My U15 club team won NEQs in Philadelphia, placed 5th at MEQs, 3rd at Capital Hill Classic and won ACPL, we placed 12th in the American division. My U16 club team won NEQ in Philadelphia, 2017 Cap Classic Open U16 and got second at Nationals USA division. I am playing on the #1 ranked 16’s team in the region, actually ranked 34th in the Nation. I have been selected by Prepvolleyball as 'Supernova' and received several mentions after 2017 Nationals.

I am incredibly competitive and I feel that I perform the best when the pressure is on! : ) I am a born leader and know the importance of team vs. individual. I feel that I am very coachable and I like to hear things how they are… I am extremely positive and I bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the court, as I am willing to do whatever it takes to help my team win. And we are pretty good at that!