Gianna Lambert is a first-year right-side hitter on the Case Western Reserve University volleyball team. In just her first year at CWRU, she has already seen significant playing time, turning in 24 kills in just six games. She loves being a part of volleyball because of the constant support that everybody provides. Lambert is currently interested in biomedical engineering but that may change to other medical-related majors. Outside the classroom, she likes to watch television and relax.

What is your favorite part of being on the volleyball team? Why?

My favorite part of being on the team is the instant amount of support you get from all the girls; they all want to help each other succeed in everything both on and off the court.

Where did you get your passion for volleyball? Any good stories?

Honestly, I started playing volleyball because my sister did and I wanted to be better than her at it; we used to turn everything we did into a competition. Even though she stopped playing during high school, I kept playing. Unlike other team sports where one person can carry an entire team, volleyball gives every player on the court a role and forces them to work together to win.

Do you have any games that you remember being particularly special? Why?

The only game I can think of was during my sophomore-year of high school when I was actually ineligible to play because I had transferred high schools. Usually, people didn’t come to our games, but the stands were filled and everyone was cheering the team on. I just remember sitting with the rest of the bench screaming as loud as we could and thinking about how I wanted to be as good as the girls on the court one day. 

Why are you majoring in biomedical engineering? What interests you about it?

At the moment all I know is that I want to have a career in the medical field and I think BME will set me up the best for that. However, I just found out that the classes BME and premed don’t align too well, so I might switch majors later on.

What are your favorite free time activities? Why?

I’m originally from California, so during my free time, my friends and I could go to the different beaches almost year-round and we loved finding different areas to go thrift shopping. Playing sports at CWRU is pretty time consuming, but I just started watching “Toddlers and Tiaras” again when I have time to relax.

What is your favorite quote or what inspires you?  

Seeing the passion and the effort the girls on the team put into volleyball pushes me to be the best I can for them.