COVID-19 can’t keep Meaghan Mastro off the court. The senior middle blocker has made the decision to extend her time at SUNY Brockport in order to continue her college volleyball career.
The star athlete ended her junior season with 290 kills, 28 assists, 27 aces, 89 blocks and 278 digs, which helped lead the Golden Eagles to a SUNYAC Championship in 2019. Her efforts earned her SUNYAC tournament MVP honors, and she was named one of Brockport’s Fall Sport Athletes of the Year.
After having such a successful season, Mastro and the team had high hopes for 2020 – until COIVD-19 came into play.
“When I heard I was losing my fall season as a senior, I was immediately disappointed and saddened,” Mastro said. “It was not how I planned to end my college career. Our team had so many goals and expectations for that season and I wanted to be a part of it. Even though I was disappointed, I saw it coming. I had tried to mentally prepare myself, but it’s still not something you want to hear.”
Mastro thought that staying another year would be an easy decision to make, but being her last semester of nursing school, she realized it wasn’t that simple.
“It’s hard right now because I should be applying to nursing jobs or accepting a job offer, but everything is pushed back,” Mastro said. “But it helped that I had a lot of support from my parents, they were encouraging me to come back. I decided to extend my undergrad and will apply as a second-degree student and pick up the public health major. The driving factor in making that decision was purely my passion for volleyball and dedication to our team.”
The healthy, positive team culture also played a role in Mastro’s decision.
“We all want to have a successful team, and so we do the best to make good decisions on and off the court,” Mastro said. “We are all competitive and want to grow as individuals and a whole. I know that if we keep working, we can advance far into the NCAA tournament.”
Head volleyball coach Steven Pike is thrilled Mastro is coming back in the fall and is using this pandemic to reinforce that healthy team culture Mastro spoke so highly about.
“Having a senior captain invest her fall in our program to learn more in the classroom and on the court will add so much value,” Pike said. “We can’t control the future, but what we can do is prepare for the next opportunity. Each day is one day closer to our next competition.”
With COVID-19 regulations easing up, the team is finally able to practice again, but it’s still nowhere near back to normal. They are still required to practice in pods but have increased the size to eight or nine players in each group. Team bonding, on the other hand, hasn’t been as easy.
“Abiding by the COVID-19 regulations means that we cannot all spend time with each other in the same vicinity,” Mastro said. “Especially the teammates who live on campus, they cannot visit other dorms; but now that the weather’s warmer, we’re hoping we can do some COVID-friendly team bonding outside.”
Despite the difficulties of COVID-19, Mastro is happy with her decision to stay and is excited to continue making memories with the team.
“Volleyball is a big part of my life,” Mastro said. “I have dedicated a lot of my time and effort to the sport since I began playing. I also love my team and representing Brockport volleyball. Our team has so much potential to be successful, and I want to be able to experience that with everyone. This will be my last college season and I want to make the most of it. I have the rest of my life to work, so what’s one more semester of school? You don’t always have the opportunity for a second chance, but if you do, and you want it, take it.”
