After months of separation and thousands of miles between them, volleyball senior Marketa Hanzlova was finally reunited with her mom.

Lenka Hanzel traveled across the North Atlantic from the Czech Republic for Family Weekend to spend quality time with her daughter and to watch the Wildcats compete against Washington and Washington State last weekend.

While the mother and daughter miss one another, Hanzel is happy for Hanzlova and her opportunity to play in the United States.
“She really wanted me to go and experience it, but she misses me a lot,” Hanzlova said.

When Hanzlova came to America from her native country, she initially went to North Idaho College before transferring to Arizona for the 2010 season. She also didn’t speak any English when she came to the states.

The senior outside hitter started playing volleyball when she was only 10 years old, and her mom was the primary influence for her early love of game and her current starting position.

“She was outside hitter too, so it helped because she knew how it was,” Hanzlova said.

Hanzel played volleyball in the Czech Republic as an outside hitter for 30 years and then continued her volleyball career by coaching for 10 years.

Volleyball is not as big of a sport in her country, Hanzel said. She was surprised by how many fans came to watch the Wildcats play over the weekend.

“The environment is really different. In Czech (Republic) only a few people come to the games,” Hanzel said through her daughter’s translation. “She was shocked about the game, how we have orchestra here.”

As Hanzlova received volleyball lessons from her mom, she learned the importance of never giving up.

“Fight — fight through every game and have fun,” Hanzlova said as her biggest volleyball lesson.

But the pair’s relationship goes beyond the court. Hanzel hopes those psychological lessons will transfer into her daughter’s everyday life as well.

“Get through everything, it’s easier because it’s hard to just go and do this everyday with school and everything,” Hanzlova translated for her mom. “It should help me get ready for life.”