By Chris Brown
At 6-foot-3, it’s easy to stand out in a crowd. But when you’re a 19-year-old college senior racking up double-digit kills in Big East volleyball matches, it’s even harder to hide.
For Lena Ustymenko, an outside hitter for the University of Louisville volleyball team, that’s reality.
Ustymenko got her start in volleyball due in part to her mother’s career in the same sport. “My mom played college ball in Ukraine,” Ustymenko said, explaining that her parents, Gregorie and Natalia Ustymenko, spiked her interest in the game when she was very young. “I was recruited when I was seven.”
But it was her abundant success in the sport that sprouted her love for the game. “I saw myself getting better and better,” Ustymenko said. The native of Kiev, Ukraine, played on several prestigious teams in her home country, including a Ukraine Youth Sports Club team that not only captured the Ukrainian National Championships in 1998 and 2002 but also qualified for European World Championship play.
It wasn’t just Ustymenko’s outstanding volleyball skills that landed her a spot on Louisville’s now-sixth-ranked team, though. The Finance major is an exceptionally gifted student with an impressive academic record.
“[In Ukraine], you usually finish high school at 16 or 17,” Ustymenko said. She, however, graduated at just 15. “I had all As,” she said, but admitted that she “didn’t study much.” Her favorite subject is math.
Ustymenko was recruited while playing club volleyball and attending Kiev Secondary School No. 187. She came to Louisville to start the next semester as a redshirt freshman – or so she thought.
When former teammate Sonja Percan was injured early in Ustymenko’s freshman season, she stepped up to fill the open outside hitter spot. She later earned C-USA All Freshman Team honors for her exceptional play. Despite breaking her wrist mid-season, Ustymenko bounced back to finish out the year with 316 kills and 30 aces for the Cards before going on to play for the U-20 Ukrainian National Team during the summer.
Ustymenko said the time she spent playing for teams like the U-20 and U-18 in Ukraine gave her valuable experience she brings back to the court for U of L. “It’s a lot different at that level. There is much more experience,” she said. “There, you have to be perfect.”
Nevertheless, Ustymenko seems to adjust well to playing in different leagues. It’s the adjustment that comes with leaving home to live, study and play in a new country, which can be challenging at such a young age. “I missed my family my first semester,” Ustymenko said. She has only been home twice in her four years at Louisville.
The senior said she fits in well with teammates, though, despite being just a few months older than some of the youngest freshmen. “I talk to everyone; everyone talks to me. I never felt younger.”
When it comes to dating, she said she’s never run into problems because of her age. Her schedule keeps her too busy to think about it. “I don’t have a lot of free time,” she laughed, saying she only wished for a free moment for even a nap.
In the little time she does have outside of the court and classroom, she likes to be with her friends. “I’m a people person,” she said.
Still, Ustymenko’s focus is on volleyball. “This year is going to be big,” she said, stating what is nothing short of obvious considering the team’s 18-0 record for the season, including Sunday’s kill over rival Cincinnati. The team prepares next for two upcoming games in Cardinal Arena before hitting the road for South Bend, Ind., to face No. 10 Notre Dame on Oct. 29.
“The hardest thing will be staying in focus,” Ustymenko said of the upcoming challenges. But powerful returning players, strong teamwork skills and different training strategies for this season give Ustymenko confidence in the team.
“We only lost two players and one starter last year,” she said. “All the others are back, so we do not have to regroup.” Instead of starting from scratch, she explained, the team can work to strengthen skills it already has, especially since so many of the players have worked together in past seasons.
Ustymenko’s particular display of skills in this, her senior season, has turned heads. Her spectacular performances in recent games – including the team’s sweeps of Villanova and Rutgers – have drawn attention from across the conference. She was named Big East player of the week twice in three weeks, most recently on Oct. 3.
“[She] is really shaping up to be a great player this season,” said U of L Associate Sports Information Director Nancy Worley.
Accolades for Ustymenko’s fierce 20 kills, three aces and seven digs in U of L’s win over Seton Hall earlier in the month came from U of L volleyball head Coach Leonid Yelin. “They gave us all we could handle in the second game,” he said. “Lena had an outstanding hitting night for us.” Her hitting percentage on the night was .633.
Ustymenko said she plans to graduate in May, and hopes to land a spot in the pros. “I want to play in the Italian championships,” she said.
As for the rest of the year, Ustymenko certainly has no intention of going out quietly. “I want to keep getting better,” she said.
