The Journey and Literature is full of quotes describing the relationship between the journey and the destination. For Xavier alumna Elizabeth Gregorski '19 the last three years have been a tribute to its meaning. Overcoming two major injuries, while wearing the Xavier Blue and White, Elizabeth persevered and through hard work and dedication fulfilled a childhood dream of playing for a National Volleyball Championship. Along the way she learned countless lessons about life, sport and herself.
Journey:
…While diving for a ball, Elizabeth shatters her finger and is forced to sit out her high school junior season. After healing, she is cleared to play her club season and in her first game back lands on an opponent’s foot and tears her ACL, meniscus, and calf muscle. According to Elizabeth, “I felt so discouraged, I was in the best physical shape of my life, jumping the highest I’ve ever jumped and now I’m out for another whole season. My rehab was a physical battle, and the mental battle was even tougher.”
Destination:
NCAA Division 1 National Volleyball Championship Pittsburg, PA December 21, 2019 Redshirt outside hitter for the University of Wisconsin volleyball team Elizabeth Gregorski and her Badger teammates take the court in their quest for Gold versus perennial powerhouse Stanford Cardinal…
…Senior season awaits and with it the unknown of actually being able to play. “I was so motivated to get on the court and in a Xavier jersey one more time. I would go to CrossFit every day and when I was feeling down would draw my thoughts back to my dream.” …Elizabeth gets cleared to play the last five matches of the year. “I played Libero the last five matches of my senior season and although we lost our last game, it will still be one of my best memories because I poured all my passion into the journey to get there. It was bittersweet. Going through my injuries changed my outlook on life, I now am more optimistic, more empathic, I value relationships more, have more confidence and I attack challenges harder. I definitely am a different Elizabeth than I was my junior year. If I could go back and
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X, The Xavier Magazine
• Summer 2020
