College volleyball: Comfort equals success for Wadsworth grad Ellie Zuro-Cirino

In college athletics, just like in real estate, the biggest factor can be location, location, location. That is definitely the case for Pitt-Johnstown junior volleyball player Ellie Zuro-Cirino. The former Wadsworth Grizzly played her freshman season at Fairmont State and was named to the conference's all-freshman team, but she never felt right there. "Freshman year was a little weird," Zuro said. "I'm going to be honest, I didn't love Fairmont State. It just wasn't the right fit for me. I was just trying to get through it." That's when she talked to Pitt-Johnstown head coach Justin Haupt. At first, she was hesitant about making the move. "I actually told him I wasn't interested at first," Zuro said. "My goal was to come closer to home, and then I kind of opened up, visited and committed here." Her sophomore year at Pitt-Johnstown was hampered by an ankle injury, but she was still third on the team in kills with 195. That success set up her junior year, in which she has become one of the best players in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. "Last year I had a pretty bad ankle sprain, so that was really tough," Zuro said. "Coming into this season, I think it's just a sense of confidence that's really helped me." Now married, Zuro leads the Mountain Cats in kills this season with 228 and has led the team in that category in 14-of-15 matches, including a career-high 22 kills on Sept. 13 against Shippensburg and Oct. 3 against Edinboro. "I just go out there to do my best, and I know my best will be good," Zuro said. "If I get blocked, or if I hit out, I'm like, 'OK, it happens. I'll just go get the next one.' I think mental toughness and confidence has helped me." That confidence has come from many outlets, including her parents. But it has also come from the person who recruited her to move to Pitt-Johnstown, head coach Justin Haupt. "It's great to know that when he believes in me, and when the other coaches believe in me, that I don't have to worry about, 'Oh, my gosh, like, do they think I can do this, do they think I am good enough?'" Zuro said. "I know they have that belief in me, so it makes it 100 times easier to have that belief in myself." That belief has led to her being named the PSAC West Volleyball Athlete of the Week twice. While those accolades are great and it makes Zuro feel good, the 2023 Gazette Senior Female Athlete of the Year listens to advice she got from her mom Carrie, who was an 11-time letterwinner at Highland. "My mom has instilled in me not to get caught up in that stuff," Zuro said. "At the end of the day, I'm going to graduate. At the end of the day, I'm not going to be on a volleyball team. My mom would always tell me what matters is that you're a good person. She says don't look at the stats, don't look at any of that. Just go out, do your best, and it will work out. It feels great to be recognized for the hard work I put in, but my mom always reminds me to just stay humble, keep working and, that at the end of the day, she's proud of me." The awards and recognition haven't made her stop working hard, either. If anything, it has made her look for even more ways to improve. "You don't want to get complacent," Zuro said. "I want athlete of the week, but to me it's not good enough to get an award, and then just kind of plateau. I want to go to practice and get 1% better each day. If I can find something that I did better, or something I improved on at practice, my mentality is can I just get 1% better at something today? I think that helps me be a little more focused and locked in." The Mountain Cats have an 11-4 record and won their first two PSAC matches before dropping to 2-1 in conference with a loss on to Edinboro. Zuro credits the good start to the team having a good vibe from the top down. "I think we have good attitudes and I think it helps when there's a positive energy," she said. "Even if we're down, it doesn't feel like we're down, it doesn't feel like we're losing. I really think positivity is huge because if you have good team chemistry, that can make all the difference between winning and losing a game." For Zuro, it isn't just how the coaches care about the players on the court. It's how they look after the players when they aren't playing. "(Haupt) cares about each person as an individual, whether you play or not," she said. "He wants to know, 'How are you feeling today? Are you sick? Are you guys stressed? What's going on?' Even if I have bad game, I know he still cares about me as an individual. It's really comforting to know that you're not just a player on his team, you're a person to him." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.