VOLLEYBALL: Livingston signs with Buena Vista University

Nodaway Valley senior Genevieve Livingston is taking her love of learning and the sport of volleyball to the next level next school year. Wednesday, March 27 she signed to play volleyball at Buena Vista University.

After she’s played multiple seasons of volleyball each year for several years now, Livingston said it feels good to make her college choice official, surrounded by her family and high school coach McKynli Newbury.

“It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid. I’ve put a lot of work into it over the years and it’s really awesome to see all that pay off,” said Livingston, who as an all-around outside hitter and three-year varsity starter, had 146 kills, led Nodaway Valley with 41 service aces and 237 digs her senior season.

Growing up, Livingston played many sports. Lately, she’s primarily focused on volleyball and fine arts. She’s been in school plays, plays seven musical instruments, and is good in the classroom, shown by her membership in the National Honor Society.

Livingston will study biomedical engineering and society and plays to take part in BVU’s honors programs.

“You have to learn you can’t do everything, so you have to decide what you’re passionate about and what you want to work for, and that’s kind of what I did,” Livingston said. “For most of high school, I was playing two or three seasons of volleyball a year. I played club and even played some beach last summer, and practice really does just make you better.”

One of those areas was Livingston’s jump serving. She would spend countless hours in the gym practicing it until she got it right. She prides herself on having a high serving percentage, however she knows that being aggressive is a priority among college players, so she’s willing to see her percentage slip a little as she works on serving more aggressively.

“You have to pay attention to the little things and do the little things and it all just translates for you later on,” Livingston said.

Livingston decided on BVU, a Division 3 school in Storm Lake, after receiving a recommendation for it from Nodaway Valley Activities Director Sara Honnold. Nebraska Wesleyan had first garnered Livingston’s attention in the recruiting process.

Livingston looks to work on her passing and defensive ability, knowing that she may become more of a defensive specialist-type player at BVU because of 5-foot-10 height. A lot of hitters in college are over 6 feet tall. She knows there will likely be players better than her ahead of her on the depth chart when she gets to college, so she anticipates having to feel out her continued growth in a new role.

“I got on campus, totally loved it, and I decided that’s where I wanted to go,” Livingston said. “They weren’t really on my radar until she said something, and it was the perfect fit for me.”