Lauren Zaniboni leads the volleyball team in kills, accumulating 170 during the first few months of the season. The 6-foot-3 right-side hitter is one of the top blockers. Her coach and teammates said they are pleased with her performance thus far — but this freshman only began playing volleyball four seasons ago, in high school.

“I was playing basketball in our gym, just playing pick-up with some friends,” Zaniboni said. “The volleyball coach was walking by and said ‘hey, you want to play?’ I tried out a couple days later, and I was awful. They just picked me because I was tall. I didn’t know anything — I pretty much learned from there.”

Coach Charita Stubbs, then a coach at Arizona, began recruiting Zaniboni during her first season. Stubbs didn’t give up on the California native, even after moving to North Carolina.

“It’s really exciting to find a kid who can play multiple sports. You can’t find that much anymore. Because she’s tall and left-handed, I knew she would get the training that would be necessary,” Stubbs said.

“She has a desire to get better. She’s like a sponge. She’ll absorb everything that you give her, and you say ‘here, run with it,’ which is exciting.”

Zaniboni moved to the opposite coast, leaving behind her friends and family — everything she knew. She said now that she’s more involved in school and with the team, she loves it.

While the personal adjustments have been difficult, she said, the humidity and heat has been an opponent in itself. The team suffers together, so the shared burden isn’t too heavy, she said.

Even though Zaniboni was initially hesitant about coming to the state of North Carolina, she said it was ultimately Stubbs who swayed her final decision.

“I had a few other offers, but Rita seemed like she was the coach who was the most into the team. I like that it’s a program that’s building up. I wanted to be a part of something I can help build,” Zaniboni said.

“It’s easy, especially when you’re building up a program, to get negative, because of course you’re going to lose a lot. I try to always look for the positive things — keep smiling, keep everybody happy and laughing.”

Freshman outside hitter and roommate Megan Rehmer said Zaniboni is the only person who can keep her relaxed and focused on the court. Rehmer said that while Zaniboni may seem quiet during a match, she is really just the opposite and the “most fun person ever.”

Freshman libero Nikki Sweet also lives with Zaniboni and said her “goofiness” can reverse a bad day, on and off the court.

“She brings a lot of energy, and she carries our team in a lot of positive ways,” Sweet said. “She’s a very positive person on the court. She keeps us all up.”

Rehmer said she leans on Zaniboni for support during games, and she’s not the only one.

“We expect a lot out of her and for her to be our big gun,” Rehmer said. “We look up to her. If she’s not on in a match, it’s our responsibility to make sure she gets back up, because usually when she’s playing well, we’re playing well. She’s one of our key players.”

For Stubbs, Zaniboni contributes height and an ability to “terminate” the ball. But the coach said her player brings more to the court than just skill.

“She’s such a great competitor and such a great person,” Stubbs said. “Normally you don’t find that. Usually there’s [a] great player not liked by many, or one who’s liked by all and not a great player.”

For Zaniboni to get into the right mindset so she can contribute this “positive energy” to the team, she has to get pumped up for a match. For home matches, she listens with her teammates to music from the stereo system in the locker room. But for Zaniboni, it’s even better when the songs are easy to sing.

“We blast hip-hop and rap and songs we can sing to,” Zaniboni said. “I like songs I can sing to. I’m really bad, but I do it anyways.”