East County Athlete of the Week: Julia Vendramini

Lakewood Ranch High senior Julia Vendramini started playing volleyball as a way to stay active during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. 

She’s since devoted herself to the sport and has become the starting setter for a Mustangs team with championship aspirations this season. 

Vendramini and the Mustangs will begin the fall season with a home match against Parrish Community Aug. 19.

When and why did you start playing volleyball? 

Actually it was my twin sister (Melissa Vendramini) who got me into it. It was during Covid. I used to swim and the pool was shut down. My sister was doing some research about some indoor sports that were open around the area. Elite Volleyball Club, back when they used to be EVO, they had an open gym, and my sister said, ‘Hey, we should go out and try this sport and see if we can get back to exercising.’ I remember being like, ‘really?’ I had grown accustomed to staying at home and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I really want to go out and try this.’ The first practice was in the middle of June and it was hot. I got there and I was like, ‘I don’t really want to do this,’ but the second I grabbed the ball and learned a little bit more about it, I loved it.

What was the most memorable moment with the team this summer?

I think the (University of Florida) camp. I mean, it’s the last camp, and I remember my first year going I had been injured so I didn’t really have that full experience. Just coming back this year for my third year, I kind of knew what to expect, but with all the new people, half of the team who went to UF was new. From going from that position of being the newbie to being a leader and showing the underclassmen, ‘Hey this is how we do it. This is how we build up our summer.’ Also, I think the UF camp is a great indicator of how the season is going to go and we placed really well, so that was a great start.

What is your all-time favorite volleyball memory?

My sophomore year I played on a club team (Sarasota Juniors) and I did the most travel I have ever done for volleyball. I definitely saw people who want to get more serious in the sport. I was fortunate enough to play with girls from Vegas to Philly. I traveled a lot that year and saw some girls who are college bound. Working that winter season my sophomore year was big on learning.

How have you developed into a better player recently?

Coach Jess (Leupold) became a first-year coach our freshman year, so we’re her last group of first people. So the expectations are a little higher, especially with the transfers. We had to instill, this is how you play volleyball the right way and how we do things around here. And also, the expectations of being a senior, you’re expected to be a leader. Our captains are seniors. So I’ve been building that leadership mentality. 

What is your goal for Lakewood Ranch volleyball this year?

I think we had a pretty upsetting loss in districts last year and we got second place, so definitely to get first place in districts this year. For tournaments, I hope we show more endurance and don’t wear out as quickly. We tend to have a problem where we start slow during those longer matches, so we want to build more stamina as a team, and we’ve been working hard this summer. I want to see that on the court.

What has been your most humbling moment in volleyball?

In beach volleyball this past year, we were district champions and we were hosting in regionals. It was like, ‘Hey, we have a shot to move forward with this. We’re doing really good.’ I partnered with Kora (Yanes). This will be my third year being partners with her and we’re very close together. We know what each other likes on the court and how we talk. Going to regionals for our first time, we had a time from up north and we had never heard of them. We looked and their record, and said, ‘Oh, they haven’t really done that well, we should be fine.’ We had a 2-3 loss, so it wasn’t super far away, but the region is so much bigger and the competition is so much different than the regular season. So we looked at their record and underestimated them.

What is your favorite meal?

I’m a big ramen person, a big noodle person. There’s a place at UTC called JaRamen. I like anything with Udon noodles and chicken. That’s my favorite.

What is your favorite TV show or movie?

I like The Simpsons and South Park. I like animated comedies. 

What is your go-to warm-up song? 

We have our own pre-game playlist that all of the seniors make a mix of all of our songs. My go-tos are Drake and The Weeknd, those are my two biggest ones. TSU by Drake is a song I’ve been listening to in open gyms and before games since my freshman year. That’s my go-to if I have to put a song on.

If you’re not playing volleyball, what are you doing?

I have a big interest in early childhood and early childhood education. I actually just came back from a preschool open house. I coach a minis team in volleyball at the local YMCA. I work with a thing called ‘Science Stars’ at the local library and help little kids with their experiments. Other than that, I like to read in my free time. Usually when I’m by myself, I like to do a calmer activity.

Who is your favorite volleyball player and why?

I think it would have to be Jordyn Byrd. Her mom coached me my sophomore year and (Byrd) came to the practices frequently. She’s a local player who played for a local high school (Cardinal Mooney) and went all the way to University of Texas to play when they were national champions and coming off a super big eye. Her and her roommate coming to practice was an eye-opener, like, ‘Wow, this is how a collegiate player plays.’ And I got to see her mom do some parallel work and it was like, ‘Wow, she also did this with Jordyn.’ So she’s someone I look up to a lot in volleyball.

Finish this sentence. Julia Vendramini is…

Ready for this season.