Hawaii women’s volleyball: Brooke Van Sickle rediscovers love of the game

Brooke Van Sickle opened up a recent interview by using an innocuous word, one that could easily be overlooked in the flow of conversation.

Fun.

She was having fun with her new Hawaii teammates. And for her, that was no small thing.

“There are a lot of good personalities, some really fun girls,” said Van Sickle, a springy 5-foot-9 redshirt junior who transferred from Oregon in the offseason. “So on and off the court it’s a really fun time. I really like it here.”

Van Sickle is the daughter of former UH men’s indoor player Gary Van Sickle (1988-90) and former Hawaii Pacific women’s standout Lisa (Bragado) Van Sickle. She was born in her father’s hometown of Hilo, spent some of her childhood in Makakilo, then moved to Battle Ground, Wash., with her family in the third grade.

The sport became a year-round endeavor in the years to come. Volleyball is ingrained in her family; her aunt, Danalee (Bragado) Corso played on the AVP Tour and coached sand/beach volleyball at Florida State.

“High school, club, beach, just like continuous, nonstop,” Van Sickle said.

#HawaiiWVB 5-9 outside hitter / libero Brooke Van Sickle talked this preseason about bringing her skill-set to her childhood home. pic.twitter.com/fdtY4GijVO

— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) August 28, 2019

“Before, when I was in (Battle Ground) high school, one of my top choices were Oregon and another was actually UH (with Dave Shoji and Scott Wong). So it was always an idea of coming here,” Van Sickle said. “It was just like, I picked Oregon because it was closer to home and because I did like Nike and it was flashy. But I’m not all about that. I learned that very quick, that it’s not all about what you have. It’s about your experiences and the people around you, more.”

Despite Oregon’s success last season — the Ducks advanced to the NCAA elite eight — she sought a new situation, throwing her name in the NCAA transfer portal until mid-June. Her decision to head to Manoa was independent from two Ducks who’d declared for UH earlier in the offseason, Kyra Hanawahine and Jolie Rasmussen.

But Hawaii made a lot of sense. She recalled fond childhood memories of the islands; her parents have even talked about moving back from the rainy Pacific Northwest someday, she said. First, the opportunity to play beach at UH presented itself. But then …

“I was really excited to get a call (from Robyn Ah Mow’s staff),” Van Sickle said. “I could never be happier. I’m having a great time. I re-learned to love volleyball again.”

What made her lose that love for the game?

“I felt like back at Oregon it was, it just wasn’t as fun as it could have been,” she said. “It just felt like a job. I mean, it is our job in a way, because it is our scholarship and stuff, but it wasn’t enjoyable. So it was kind of brutal, sometimes.”

Her face brightened. “But now I’m having a great time.” She laughed.

Her parents, Hilo and Campbell High graduates, were supportive of her relocation, she said. They stopped by the team’s Green & White scrimmage last Friday.

One of Van Sickle’s strengths is her versatility. She’s listed as both an outside hitter and libero.

After about a week of full preseason practices, she’d done more hitting than back-row play.

She could be in position to start in the back row, thanks to her excellent serving and passing, according to volleyball beat writer Cindy Luis. Van Sickle set extensively prior to her college career. She had a nine-ace game against Portland State last season, second in the UO record books.

“I’m not too picky at all. I mean, whatever can help with the team,” Van Sickle said. “If I can hit, I do enjoy hitting, I think it’s really fun, but if someone else were to be a better hitter than me, then it’s like, OK, that just makes the team better. And then we can build further that way.”

She could be an indoor/beach volleyball hybrid player, as she was at OU.

Here’s a couple examples of Van Sickle’s versatility from last season’s NCAA tournament run, which included a win over No. 2 Minnesota in the round of 16.

Set of the tournament? ✅
Set of the year? ✅@OregonVB wins an EPIC second set to even it up in Minnesota, 41-39 😱#NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/FgeKsGmq3B

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 7, 2018

ARE YOU KIDDING ME BROOKE VAN SICKLE???#NCAAVB #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/fuwRVYpRXh

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 1, 2018

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UH opens the season in the Hawaiian Airlines Volleyball Classic at 7 p.m. Friday against No. 21 San Diego.