UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Anastasiya Kudryashova had 1 ½ months playing at one of the top volleyball programs in the country until COVID-19 hit the United States. Yet even in that small amount of time, Kudryashova felt the power of the community Penn State has established.
"It's been great — the atmosphere and the team where everyone is working hard. Everyone is really competitive and it's incredible," Kudryashova said.
Kudryashova started playing volleyball in her home country of Russia after trying a plethora of sports to find the one that spoke to her. With the support of her family, she went all into her passion.
"My parents were trying to put me into a sport," Kudryashova said. "I was playing basketball and I was swimming. Once I was in the store with my mother, and a volleyball coach saw me, came to me, and she said, 'Oh, you're so tall. Do you want to try volleyball?' I said yes."
Ever since she was 14 years old, Kudryashova has been living on her own. Being independent at a young age has taught Kudryashova how to be open to new places and experiences.
"I think after I started living alone, at 14 years old, I'm not afraid of moving to different cultures," Kudryashova said. "If someone would say, 'Hey, do you want to go to Australia? Or do you want to go to Africa and do something there?' I'll say for sure; I wouldn't be scared of that because I know humans can adapt to anything in that sort of way. I also realize that there will always be people who will help you to feel more comfortable."
Kudryashova had dreams of playing at a collegiate level, and decided she wanted to come to America and continue her career. At the beginning of the process, she did not know where to begin yet called upon a friend who was playing at Syracuse to get the ball rolling on making her dream a reality.
"I didn't know how to find a university and I knew one of my friends who was at Syracuse. I texted her and she said, 'You can text my coach, I'll give the email and just ask him, whether we can go to my university or he can recommend you to another university,'" Kudryashova said. "I texted him and he said, 'There's one university that is really interested in you because once they saw how you play, they wanted to text you, but then they kind of gave up on you. If you're interested in them right now I can contact a second coach.' Her name was Ana and she's not working at Rutgers anymore, but that's how I contacted Rutgers. That was my only option.
After years of training, she began her collegiate journey at Rutgers, where she played the past two years. However, Kudryashova wanted to be in an environment that pushed her even harder as a competitor. She wanted to continue her growth in all aspects and transferred to Penn State in January 2020.
"After two season at Rutgers, I decided that it was really tough to play in the sense it was frustrating that we've been losing a lot of games," Kudryashova said. "I decided that I want to do better. I just went into the transfer portal, and after that I got an offer from Penn State. I decided to go here — it was pretty simple."
Everything was going great — a new school and an inspiring team playing the sport she loves. All was well, and then COVID-19 hit. Kudryashova went with teammate Emily Oerther to Florida for spring break and stayed in Florida throughout the summer months due to delays of their return to State College.
"She offered me to stay with her over spring break, and I went with her to Florida," Kudryashova said. "They offered me to stay late. It's been great just because Emily has an amazing family. They provided the environment where we could still be active, do some exercises and some water sports. So it's been great just because they were there, they were with us. I got really lucky."
Since coming to Penn State, Kudryashova has felt the power of the community — even while it feels distant during these unusual times. She has seen the parallels between her home in Russia and her new home in Happy Valley.
"I had only about a month and a half of real Penn State experience because I came here on January 13," Kudryashova said. "I love it here just because it kind of reminds me of my hometown."
While chasing her dreams to play collegiate volleyball and arriving in the United States two years ago, she curated a major piece of advice she would share to younger athletes who dream to play in the United States.
"The only advice I would give is you will have to work really hard and just be prepared for that," Kudryashova said. "When I just got here the level of my English was really, really low. So I would also suggest to study as much as you can because it's going to be tough to speak English all the time," Kudryashova said.
"Whenever you're trying to learn a second language, the best way to do it is practice so the main thing is just talk to people," Kudryashova continued. "Some people think that watching TV shows in English is going to help you or either reading books in English is going to help. It can help you, but it's not going to help you as much as speaking with a real English native speaker. I'm trying to learn French and it's the same thing. When you try to learn and your brain pauses information so much faster, and you have to just think faster and it's easier to just practice."
Outside of volleyball, Kudryashova likes to explore her talents with creativity as she is pursuing a Journalism degree. Beyond her creative talents, Kudryashova has found a love for a form of active meditation.
"I'm an introvert so all my hobbies are really simple," Kudryashova said. "It's reading or drawing or doing something artistic. Also, I like to walk. That's weird, but I really like to walk."
Kudryashova's post-graduation plans are to combine her two passions in life. She would like to continue her education in creativity while also playing in the sport that has changed her life.
"I think after my graduation, I will definitely try to play in Europe for a couple of years, and I will definitely try to get a second degree in either animation or 3D design where you're kind of making games," Kudryashova said
Volleyball has taught Kudryashova a lot about who she is as a person and her work ethic. With her talent and want to grow more, she remains excited for what is to come on a new chapter in her journey.
"I think volleyball taught me how to be tough," Kudryashova said. "When you have three, four practices a day and it doesn't matter whether you're injured or not, it doesn't matter whether you're in the mood or not, you want to play or not like sometimes you just don't feel like playing and don't know what happened to you. You just have to play. It taught me how to be strong, how to be tough mentally and be prepared for any difficulties that line your path.
"That is what only a sport can teach a person."
