University of Minnesota Athletics
A True Team Player: Athena Mallakis
10/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Mallakis takes great pride in being at Minnesota during the whole run, and continues to try to play her role in helping the Golden Gophers maintain the lofty level of success they have had during this span. As a veteran who has been with the program for three years, she understands the recipe for Minnesota’s success and is eager to continue to pass it along to other players to help the program continue on its present path.
“I want to make sure I am always pushing myself and setting a good example for the underclassmen on the team,” said Mallakis. “In practice when I am with the second team, I want to make sure myself and all the players on my side of the net are pushing the first team to be as good as they can be so they will be prepared to succeed in matches. You never know when your opportunity will come and you have to be ready. It is also important to always try to push yourself and your teammates to get better. That is what I am always trying to accomplish.”
Mallakis has played in 18 matches in her career at Minnesota, however when you talk to the coaching staff they realize the invaluable role that she has played since she has been with the program.
“It is very seldom that a player in Athena’s position can be a such a critical member of the team,” said Minnesota Head Coach Mike Hebert. “Other players on our team frequently talk to me about how important Athena is to our success. It is remarkable the amount of impact that she has on other players, and that is a big part of why we have functioned so well as a team during her time with the program.”
Entering her senior season, Mallakis has drawn inspiration from past Golden Gophers players to fill her role. She talks about the influence that Erin Lorenzen (2000-2003) and Amanda Hokenson (2001-04) each had on her.
“One of my main roles now is to be a leader off the court,” said Mallakis. “I always want to make sure I am helping my team get better in practice and that I am providing positive energy to the team. Those were things that Erin (Lorenzen) and Amanda (Hokenson) did very well when they were here, and I feel like I learned a lot from them.”
One of the common bonds that Lorenzen, Hokenson and Mallakis have all had in common is the ability to put the team first and not think about their individual situation. That is a concept that is easier said then done, but an important one that has allowed the Minnesota volleyball program to function as a tight-knit unit over the last three-plus years.
“We work pretty hard as a staff and as a team on defining roles and getting players to embrace their role,” said Hebert. “Whether that role is a starter or coming off the bench, the understanding is that everyone needs to pull in the same direction to make sure the team is getting better. During our successful run over the last three years, we have had a lot of success at executing this philosophy.”
“I think our coaching staff tries to recruit a certain type of person,” said Mallakis. “Along with the obvious aspect of recruiting talented players, they also look at the type of people they are recruiting and how they play on the court. They want people who are going to learn the lessons from the experienced players in our program, and who will buy into the gym culture. I think this is a large part of our program’s success.”
On top of the fond memories of success that Mallakis has regarding team accomplishments, she also embraces the individual matches in which she has performed well. In her sophomore season, Mallakis made her first career start against Iowa on Oct. 29 and delivered a career-high eight kills and eight blocks. That set her up to play a significant role in a big match against No. 20 Wisconsin at home. Mallakis ended up with four kills and four blocks in a four-game victory over the Badgers that moved Minnesota’s Big Ten winning streak to 10 matches. It was especially significant for the Golden Gophers, because it moved them to 10-2 after they had started 0-2 in Big Ten play.
“The Wisconsin match really sticks out in my head as my favorite individual achievement with the program,” said Mallakis. “It was really exciting. As a sophomore, I had come back from my knee injury from the previous year and I was really nervous when I got into the match. The atmosphere of the crowd and playing against Wisconsin in a big match was amazing.”
For Mallakis it was satisfying after battling back from an ACL injury she had rehabbed from in her freshman year with the program. Mallakis tore her ACL in both her junior and senior seasons of high school, and had surgery before she came to Minnesota. She spent her freshman season rehabbing from it.
“Athena’s career started out in the roughest way possible with an injury to battle back from,” said Hebert. “However, she understood the situation and never led it be a reason to be pessimistic. From day one she was always a wonderful teammate, and she has continued to be that way throughout her career.”
Heading into her career at Minnesota, Mallakis could tell right away it was place she wanted to be.
“I was at club a tournament in the area, and I decided to visit Minnesota to take a look at it,” said Mallakis. “Being from California I had never been to a Big Ten school, but I fell in love with it right away. From that point on I kept the image in my head, and compared every other place I visited to it. My junior year I came up for the Northern Lights Tournament and met with Mike and he told me they wanted to recruit me. I knew I wanted to come here. The facilities were great, they had a very good attendance, and I loved the players and coaches right away.”
Even when Mallakis chose to come to Minnesota she could not imagine all the success that she would be a part of with the program.
“When I chose to come to Minnesota I knew the program would be good,” said Mallakis. “However, there a lot of other reasons I wanted to be part of the program. All the accomplishments we have had as a team made it an even better ride then it would have been.”
It is interesting that when Mallakis talks about her favorite moments at Minnesota she traces back to her freshman season with the team, and the Golden Gophers’ first Big Ten title in school history.
“My favorite moment was our 2002 Big Ten title,” said Mallakis. “Throughout the whole season we were winning and sticking together. We had so much fun, and winning the program’s first Big Ten title was an amazing accomplishment.”
As Mallakis nears the halfway point of her senior season, she reflects on the type of player she wants to remembered as when her career Minnesota is done.
“I just want people to remember that I was always a player who cared about the team first,” said Mallakis. “I always put the accomplishments of the team in front of what I was doing individually, because that has always been the most important thing to me.” As Minnesota gets off to another great start at 13-2 in 2005, it is easy to look back at the last three-plus years as the best stretch the program has enjoyed in its history. Minnesota has gone 105-24 since 2002, won a Big Ten title (2002), advanced to two Final Fours (2003 & 2004) and played in a National Championship match (2004). Three players on this year’s team carry the bond of having been with the program throughout the whole span. Those are the three seniors, Jessica Byrnes, Paula Gentil and Athena Mallakis.
Mallakis takes great pride in being at Minnesota during the whole run, and continues to try to play her role in helping the Golden Gophers maintain the lofty level of success they have had during this span. As a veteran who has been with the program for three years, she understands the recipe for Minnesota’s success and is eager to continue to pass it along to other players to help the program continue on its present path.
“I want to make sure I am always pushing myself and setting a good example for the underclassmen on the team,” said Mallakis. “In practice when I am with the second team, I want to make sure myself and all the players on my side of the net are pushing the first team to be as good as they can be so they will be prepared to succeed in matches. You never know when your opportunity will come and you have to be ready. It is also important to always try to push yourself and your teammates to get better. That is what I am always trying to accomplish.”
Mallakis has played in 18 matches in her career at Minnesota, however when you talk to the coaching staff they realize the invaluable role that she has played since she has been with the program.
“It is very seldom that a player in Athena’s position can be a such a critical member of the team,” said Minnesota Head Coach Mike Hebert. “Other players on our team frequently talk to me about how important Athena is to our success. It is remarkable the amount of impact that she has on other players, and that is a big part of why we have functioned so well as a team during her time with the program.”
Entering her senior season, Mallakis has drawn inspiration from past Golden Gophers players to fill her role. She talks about the influence that Erin Lorenzen (2000-2003) and Amanda Hokenson (2001-04) each had on her.
“One of my main roles now is to be a leader off the court,” said Mallakis. “I always want to make sure I am helping my team get better in practice and that I am providing positive energy to the team. Those were things that Erin (Lorenzen) and Amanda (Hokenson) did very well when they were here, and I feel like I learned a lot from them.”
One of the common bonds that Lorenzen, Hokenson and Mallakis have all had in common is the ability to put the team first and not think about their individual situation. That is a concept that is easier said then done, but an important one that has allowed the Minnesota volleyball program to function as a tight-knit unit over the last three-plus years.
“We work pretty hard as a staff and as a team on defining roles and getting players to embrace their role,” said Hebert. “Whether that role is a starter or coming off the bench, the understanding is that everyone needs to pull in the same direction to make sure the team is getting better. During our successful run over the last three years, we have had a lot of success at executing this philosophy.”
“I think our coaching staff tries to recruit a certain type of person,” said Mallakis. “Along with the obvious aspect of recruiting talented players, they also look at the type of people they are recruiting and how they play on the court. They want people who are going to learn the lessons from the experienced players in our program, and who will buy into the gym culture. I think this is a large part of our program’s success.”
On top of the fond memories of success that Mallakis has regarding team accomplishments, she also embraces the individual matches in which she has performed well. In her sophomore season, Mallakis made her first career start against Iowa on Oct. 29 and delivered a career-high eight kills and eight blocks. That set her up to play a significant role in a big match against No. 20 Wisconsin at home. Mallakis ended up with four kills and four blocks in a four-game victory over the Badgers that moved Minnesota’s Big Ten winning streak to 10 matches. It was especially significant for the Golden Gophers, because it moved them to 10-2 after they had started 0-2 in Big Ten play.
“The Wisconsin match really sticks out in my head as my favorite individual achievement with the program,” said Mallakis. “It was really exciting. As a sophomore, I had come back from my knee injury from the previous year and I was really nervous when I got into the match. The atmosphere of the crowd and playing against Wisconsin in a big match was amazing.”
For Mallakis it was satisfying after battling back from an ACL injury she had rehabbed from in her freshman year with the program. Mallakis tore her ACL in both her junior and senior seasons of high school, and had surgery before she came to Minnesota. She spent her freshman season rehabbing from it.
“Athena’s career started out in the roughest way possible with an injury to battle back from,” said Hebert. “However, she understood the situation and never led it be a reason to be pessimistic. From day one she was always a wonderful teammate, and she has continued to be that way throughout her career.”
Heading into her career at Minnesota, Mallakis could tell right away it was place she wanted to be.
“I was at club a tournament in the area, and I decided to visit Minnesota to take a look at it,” said Mallakis. “Being from California I had never been to a Big Ten school, but I fell in love with it right away. From that point on I kept the image in my head, and compared every other place I visited to it. My junior year I came up for the Northern Lights Tournament and met with Mike and he told me they wanted to recruit me. I knew I wanted to come here. The facilities were great, they had a very good attendance, and I loved the players and coaches right away.”
Even when Mallakis chose to come to Minnesota she could not imagine all the success that she would be a part of with the program.
“When I chose to come to Minnesota I knew the program would be good,” said Mallakis. “However, there a lot of other reasons I wanted to be part of the program. All the accomplishments we have had as a team made it an even better ride then it would have been.”
It is interesting that when Mallakis talks about her favorite moments at Minnesota she traces back to her freshman season with the team, and the Golden Gophers’ first Big Ten title in school history.
“My favorite moment was our 2002 Big Ten title,” said Mallakis. “Throughout the whole season we were winning and sticking together. We had so much fun, and winning the program’s first Big Ten title was an amazing accomplishment.”
As Mallakis nears the halfway point of her senior season, she reflects on the type of player she wants to remembered as when her career Minnesota is done.
“I just want people to remember that I was always a player who cared about the team first,” said Mallakis. “I always put the accomplishments of the team in front of what I was doing individually, because that has always been the most important thing to me.”
