Wednesday, August 10, 2022 — 7
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

After learning and overcoming, Jess Mruzik readies to lead Michigan

LINDSAY BUDIN
Summer Managing Sports Editor

CHICAGO — When Michigan 
junior outside hitter Jess Mruzik 
arrived at Michigan after graduating 
high school a semester early in 
January 2020, she finally got the 
opportunity to take her talents to 
the collegiate level. But when she 
contracted mono and spent weeks 
dealing with the illness, she faced her 
first road bump. 
And when she finally returned to 
campus, she was met with an even 
bigger setback: a complete shutdown 
of the University due to the onset of 
COVID-19. 
Now, heading into her third 
season, Mruzik will get to play in an 
environment that’s foreign to her — 
one without the heavy burden and 
impediment of the pandemic. 
After leading the Wolverines with 
446 points and 389 kills en route to 
collecting First Team All-Big Ten 
accolades last year, Mruzik enters the 
upcoming season with experience, 
drive and the desire to lead.
In the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball 
Media Days, Mruzik put aside 

discussing her formidable on-court 
skills to focus on what she can bring 
to the locker room.
“This year I definitely see myself 
as someone who is going to try and 
push my teammates to be better 
every single day,” Mruzik said. “But 
also, they’re pushing me to be better.”
Mruzik is used to being pushed, 

whether it comes from herself, her 
teammates or her opposition. When 
she joined the program, Mruzik 
received her first big push — this one, 
from the ruthless Big Ten. Quickly, 
other teams were able to figure her 
out, target her and come after her. But 
she learned to adapt, overcoming the 
challenge to stay one step ahead of 

Big Ten sets standard with inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Media Days

CHICAGO — The Big Ten stands 
at the helm of collegiate women’s 
volleyball, with three of its member 
schools winning five out of the last 
nine national championships. This 
week, the conference broke ground 
with the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball 
Media Days, marking a new age in the 
sports’ media coverage.
“This is the first-ever (Big Ten 
Volleyball Media Day) and this is 
the coolest opportunity,” Ohio State 
senior libero Kylie Murr said. “And 
little girls are going to want to keep 
playing volleyball because it’s going to 
give them opportunities like this. And 
I think that’s what was missing and I 
think we’re heading in that direction, 
but it’s obviously still not perfect yet.”
Representation in the media opens 
the door to even more possibilities. 
Young girls reading sports articles 
or turning on Big Ten Network 
see volleyball players beginning 
to receive equitable treatment to 
football and men’s and women’s 
basketball players. And while the 

longstanding popularity of volleyball 
may suggest that the media days are 
overdue, the execution and success 
should be celebrated.
Two players and the head coach of 
every Big Ten volleyball program were 
in attendance and had opportunities 
to speak at a press conference and for 
outlets like Sirius XM, NCAA.com, 
ESPN and the Big Ten Network’s 
digital media and television. Recap 
shows aired live on Big Ten Network 
each day, including an interview with 
Big Ten Conference Commissioner 
Warren.
“I think our sport’s growing so fast 
right now,” Michigan coach Mark 
Rosen said. “We have 55 matches this 
year on the Big Ten Network or ESPN 
from our conference. That’s going 
to be huge for us. … (Volleyball is) a 
sport people are watching because 
it’s fun to watch, because it’s exciting, 
it’s drama, (it’s) great athleticism. 
They’re seeing this and they’re 
getting attracted to our sport.”
Out of the six Big Ten matches 
featured on ESPN2 or ESPNU in 
the fall, Michigan is slated in three 
of them — twice against Wisconsin, 
and once against Ohio State. And the 

Wolverines’ other matchup against 
the Buckeyes will be one of two 
matches featured on FS1.
Volleyball’s popularity is growing 
rapidly, and as it receives more 
television exposure, that growth 
becomes more sustainable. The 2021 
National 
Championship 
between 
Nebraska and Wisconsin set a 
record with 1.19 million viewers as 
the highest viewership for women’s 
volleyball on any ESPN network.
And the sport’s popularity has 
also translated to name, image and 
likeness success. In the first year 
after NIL was passed, women’s 
volleyball ranked fourth in total 
NIL compensation on Opendorse’s 
platform, and fifth in total NIL 
activities. 
Given the popularity of the sport, 
events like the Big Ten Volleyball 
Media Days are necessary to support 
growth. Exposure to the public is 
crucial to build upon teams’ successes 
season after season. 
“(The media) keeps evolving,” 
Michigan junior outside hitter Jess 
Mruzik said. “And I think there’s 
always new ways to get content out 
there, but I just think the media has 

helped build this little community 
within volleyball itself. These kids 
that come to camp, they take pictures 
with us and they tag us on their 
Instagram and then they follow us 
on Instagram. It’s cool to have this 
network and community with people 
from all over the world.”
The changing media landscape, 
the introduction of NIL and the 
popularity of social media platforms 
like TikTok and 
Instagram 
make 
it possible to learn 
more 
about 
the 
person 
beyond 
the 
names 
on 
their backs. The 
engaging aspects 
of 
social 
media 
help 
student-
athletes 
become 
more 
accessible 
to fans, and the 
increased 
news 
coverage 
and 
television time for 
volleyball players 
from the Media 
Days 
amplifies 
that.

“And I think especially with today, 
this is a huge step in the volleyball 
world. 
We’re 
definitely 
setting 
precedent for people to follow,” 
Mruzik said.
The Big Ten made history with 
its recent television contract and the 
inaugural media days. Now, eyes turn 
to other conferences to follow suit and 
allow coverage to grow alongside the 
sport.

VOLLEYBALL

VOLLEYBALL

TAYLOR DANIELS
Daily Sports Writer

JULIANNE YOON/Daily

her competition. 
“A lot of people, they’ve done 
things to try to affect her game 
because they need to be able to try 
to slow her down,” Michigan coach 
Mark Rosen said. “She’s one of the 
best learners I’ve ever worked with, 
she picks things up very quickly.”
Despite finding ways to deal with 
conference challenges and earning 
an AVCA All-American Honorable 
Mention, Mruzik’s season ended 
on a sour note: a first-round NCAA 
Tournament exit to Ball State, leaving 
the Wolverines disappointed and 
dissatisfied. 
This year, with only two incoming 
freshmen on the team, nearly every 
Michigan player is holding onto that 
loss as additional motivation for this 
season. 
“You could just visually see 
on people’s faces that we were 
disappointed,” Mruzik said about 
last season’s tournament loss. “I 
definitely know we’ll play with a fire 
under us this year.”
And Mruzik is somebody who can 
help lead the Wolverines past the 
heights they reached one season ago. 
With an increased understanding 
of the competition and a more 
advanced skill set, Mruzik — despite 

only being a junior — serves as a 
prominent leader for Michigan.
Mruzik 
recognizes 
that 
the 
Wolverines cannot rest on the 
success of making the tournament 
last year, and instead must take that 
learning experience — and the pain 
of that defeat — to reach a different 
outcome this year.
“She’s 
extremely 
competitive,” 
Rosen said. “… And I think that’s a 
true test of a champion, somebody 
who can take those battles and really 
kind of enjoy (them) as well as learn 
through them.”
The competitive nature that drives 
Mruzik 
is 
something 
Michigan 
needs in order to find success within 
the high-level Big Ten field. And 
it’s something that Mruzik aims to 
spread through her leadership.
“Like Mark mentioned, I’m pretty 
competitive,” Mruzik said. “That’s 
definitely what I like to bring into 
the gym every day and into our 
practices.”
With high aspirations this season, 
the Wolverines need somebody to 
lead the charge. And after facing 
— and overcoming — road bumps 
throughout her first two years at 
Michigan, Mruzik believes she can 
be the one to take the helm.

JULIANNE YOON/Daily

Jess Mruzik spoke at the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Media Days.

Michigan volleyball coach Mark Rosen spoke at the inaugural 
Big Ten Volleyball Media Days.

