It wasn’t until her first year of high school that sophomore Kara Hildebrand gave volleyball a try.
She proceeded to join the Jr. Olympic Volleyball in tenth grade for a team called Norlanco. It was during her playing time with Norlanco that she was found by Eastern’s volleyball coaches.
During the last two seasons, Hildebrand has become one of the most outstanding volleyball players not only at Eastern, but in the history of the PAC.
“Teams have to gameplan to stop her,” Head Coach Mark Birtwistle said.
He added that Hildebrand has close to a 400 percent kill rating, which is more than impressive. “She is our go-to girl,” he said.
So far this year, Hildebrand has been PAC player of the week three times in addition to making the all-tournament team three times–at the Moravian and NYU tournaments as well as at the Eastern University Extravaganza.
Last year Hildebrand also had an exceptional year, being named 1st Team All-PAC, 1st Team All-Mid-Atlantic-Region and Honorable Mention All American. As soon as this year’s post-season honors are awarded, Hildebrand’s name may well be on all three lists once again.
According to Hildebrand the volleyball team is like a family. “I love my coach and our team is very close-knit. Where I’m at is because of my team,” she said.