VUVB hitter Malgorzata Banasiak signs with Florida Memorial University

VINCENNES, Ind. – VUVB sophomore hitter Malgorzata Banasiak signed her letter of intent to play next season at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens.

“I decided to sign with FMU mainly because of the professionalism of the coach, who from the very beginning presented me with the main goals for next season and the training plan, which is a very important element of preparing players for the new season,” Banasiak said. “During our conversations, I had the opportunity to see the campus through the camera on the phone. The school also offers courses related to biology, which was just another point that convinced me to continue my college education at Florida Memorial University.”

“Hitting on the right side, or the opposite side is a really challenging position,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “Because, if you are right-handed, coming behind the setter that’s your off side. One of the things that I always liked about ‘Gosia’ is that if you put the ball up anywhere around the front row area, she’s going to take a swing. One of the things we like to do with our left front or right front is run them in the middle to hit and she did that extremely well. She was also able to run some slides last year, so she’s got quite a bit of range and I think that’s one part of her game that we really developed.”

“As a blocker, she puts up a really big block,” Sien added. “That’s something that really comes out on film more than in the stats sheet. Because she puts up such a big block, most of the hitters tried to avoid her and you really have to look at how many digs our left back would get. Usually it was quite a bit because teams were trying to hit away from her. Even though it wasn’t always in the stats, she did a wonderful job of taking the line shot away from opposing hitters.”

Banasiak had a strong sophomore season last year for the Trailblazers, finishing with 157 kills and 62 blocks, helping VU to a 29-9 record last season and a 12-0 record again Region 24 opponents.

Banasiak closed out her Vincennes career with 245 kills and 98 blocks, finishing with two-year career record of 51-13 and 24-0 against Region 24 opponents as she helped the Blazers capture back-to-back Region 24 Championships.

“I think the memory that sticks with me the most was winning the Region 24 Championship two years in a row,” Banasiak added. “Winning as a freshman was an indescribable experience, but defending the title again last year just reassured me that our hard work was not in vain and together as a team, we were able to accomplish many things. I am happy that I could be a part of such a team.”

Banasiak is the final member of last year’s sophomore class to announce their future plans with Lara Gomes de Castro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.) signing to play at Union College and Keiser University respectively, along with Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) and Kaley Roush (Shoals, Ind.) who will be returning to VU this fall to continue their education in VU’s nursing program.

“Really all five sophomores could have kept playing somewhere if they wanted to,” Sien said. “What more can we say about this group? I think the best way to put it is, they checked every box, in terms of being leaders, filling different positions on the team, being here two years and winning two Region Championships. They are pretty serious about what they want to do with their lives. They all want to continue their education, which to me, is the epitome of a successful class. Having them for years one and two and then they already have years three and four planned, to me, that’s the greatest success.”

“They will definitely contribute to whatever community they live in,” Sien added. “They will contribute to their jobs. That’s a successful class and as coaches we all hope that we can have a class like that every year. Where every single person has a goal in their mind and they not only pursuing it, but they are not going to give up until they reach that end goal.”

“Vincennes University made it very easy for me to adapt to a new situation as an international student,” Banasiak said. “Starting from the welcome by professors who, with their 100-percent commitment, made it easy for me to understand every material of the classes and not have any overdue assignments, especially during the season. This is very important, especially when you are so far from home.”

“The greatest support for me was Professor Emily Yetka, who from the very beginning made sure that every international student felt at home at VU,” Banasiak added. “I am incredibly grateful to her for her support and how much I could learn from her.”

“On the athletic side, I feel that Coach Gary Sien, from my first year until the very end of my second season, was very supportive and understanding,” Banasiak said. “He always did his best to pass on his volleyball knowledge to us in the best possible way so that we could use it in the future. Throughout my years of playing volleyball, I have had the experience of training with various coaches and each of them passes on their part of knowledge to the players. A person learns all his life and such knowledge is never enough.”

“Both Coach Gary Sien and Coach Mike Misner gave me many valuable tips resulting from many years of experience,” Banasiak said. “The task of a coach is never easy, it requires hard work and commitment that will pay off in the future. This resulted in winning the Region 24 Championship two year in a row, which only proved the hard work of the entire team. I hope that I will bring all this knowledge and experience to my new team next season, which will allow me to broaden my horizons with new volleyball experiences.”

“These exciting two years have given me great experiences and great friends that I will miss tremendously,” Banasiak added. “Despite the ups and downs, I am extremely happy that I was part of the Trailblazers and that together with this team, I was able to experience every moment of winning and losing. Because in the losing moments, we had to be the greatest motivation and support for each other. It’s hard for me to believe that this was my last season with VU. All I can say is it was a great time with great people. But, it’s time to blaze my trail somewhere else.”

Banasiak is joining a Lions squad that finished last season with a record of 10-11 and 7-8 in Sun Conference play under Head Coach Jazmine Washington.

Florida Memorial University is an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and University) and plays in the NAIA and Sun Conference, the same conference as Josephine Mulligan’s Keiser University. Banasiak will also play for the Lions’ Beach Volleyball team next season as well.

“For Joie and Gosia to play against each other next year, how cool is that?” Sien said. “You’ve got two people who grew up on opposite sides of the world, played two years together here and now they will travel to another region of the country going to school and playing volleyball and competing against each other. I’ve had that happen before more locally, but for them to go that far away and still see each other on the court, how cool is that?”

“I am very happy for Gosia to have this opportunity at FMU,” Sien added. “We were looking at different places that she might be interested in going to and Florida Memorial happened to be one of the schools that we contacted and they had an opportunity for her both financially and Coach Washington really wanted to sign her. This opportunity came on kind of late and she and I both believe that it was just meant to be for her to go play at FMU. Florida Memorial is also the only HBCU in the country that offers beach volleyball. FMU is a very strong academic school for what she wants to study, so it’s a great opportunity that she has both academically and athletically.”

The Vincennes University Athletic Department would like to congratulate Malgorzata Banasiak on her signing with Florida Memorial University and wishes her good luck next season.