Last year during the final regular season game against Eastern Michigan University on Nov. 16, then-sophomore libero Aly Gurtiza broke the Central Michigan volleyball team single-season dig record with 637.

It wasn’t always a thought that she would break records. In fact, she didn’t know if she’d get much playing time at all during her time here at CMU.

“I did come here as a walk-on,” Gurtiza said. “Mike (Gawlik) always made it apparent that it doesn’t matter how young you are or what kind of money you’re getting, it’s just if you’re the best player, you’re going to play. ... I worked day in and day out to be the best player to hear my name called.”

Where it all began

At the age of 9, Gurtiza switched from playing soccer to volleyball after repeatedly seeing the girls practicing on the other end of the gym.

She played recreational volleyball for a year, and Gurtiza’s coaches suggested that she move onto Club volleyball. That opened the door to Gurtiza traveling to different parts of the country, from the ages of 11 to 18.

Gurtiza now plays libero, which is a position that serves as a defensive specialist and is not allowed to rotate to the front line; but when she first started volleyball, she was an outside. She moved to libero at age 14, when she stopped growing and was no longer tall enough.

“I was mostly a defensive player anyway,” Gurtiza said. “That is where my strong suit was so it wasn’t too bad of an adjustment.”

Playing at a higher level

As she got older and continued to grow in the sport, Gurtiza realized her potential to go to the next level.

“I played at the same club until my 16th year,” Guritza said. “Up until then I was just kind of like, ‘Oh clubs’ fun,’ ... but there are different levels of everything: there’s American, national and open, which is the top, and I was playing at the bottom one. ... I ended up switching clubs to an open level … and that’s when I realized it was a lot more serious and the college recruiting process started.”

In 2021, Gurtiza graduated from Lee’s Summit West High School in Greenwood, Missouri. Due to COVID-19, the recruitment process for Gurtiza was different compared to other athletes.

“It was really hard,” Gurtiza said. “Hard to get to know people, especially over the phone. I didn’t get to see any of the campuses or talk to the girls. And knowing the people I was going to be surrounded with was a top priority. It was a very difficult time and especially because people had COVID years and so the people you were talking to would say ‘oh this player is staying longer so now we don’t have a position for you.’ It was kind of a tough recruiting time.”

Breaking the record

Traveling 11 hours from Missouri to Mount Pleasant, Gurtiza knew exactly what she was looking for in a school when it came to making her decision to play at CMU.

“I just felt like it was a very family aspect,” Gurtiza said. “And that’s something that I was really looking (for) especially, knowing I was going to be so far from home. Something really important to me was knowing that the people I’m going to be around care about you as a person.”

During her freshman year, Gurtiza didn’t expect to play much, being that she was a walk-on and two other liberos were on the roster. But when both ended up injured, it was Gurtiza’s time to shine.

Two years after making the decision to play with the Chippewas, Gurtiza started to make her presence known, breaking records on the CMU volleyball team.

“I kind of knew going into the game that I was close to it,” Gurtiza said. “After the game, I asked how many digs I got, and my teammates were very supportive of me ... cheering me on the whole time. They made an announcement on the bus, and it was just very cool to see.”

Gurtiza has grown a lot during her time here at CMU and that isn’t lost on Gawlik.

“I think there’s been a big change from Gurtiza,” Gawlik said. “In some ways it’s just talking to her and about how we can win and giving her the confidence and “I think there’s been a big change (in) Gurtiza,” Gawlik said. “In some ways it’s just talking to her and about how we can win and giving her the confidence and understanding that we want her to go for it.”

Gawlik looks to Gurtiza as someone to help lead the team amid many new transfers.

“She is stepping into a leadership role for us,” Gawlik said. “She is a staple on our defensive side of the ball and she’s played a lot of volleyball for us even though she’s in her junior year.”

While she found success on the court, she had to adjust to being away from the people who mean the most to her.

Being away from her mom — her biggest supporter in everything she does — was the hardest. Despite being 11 hours away Denise (Gurtiza’s mom) still manages to be there for her daughter.

“My mom always texts me before every game a Rocky Balboa gif of him running up the stairs,” Gurtiza said. “She’s just always been supportive of every decision that I want to make, and she is always saying they support me and they try to come to a lot of games. ... It’s always nice to have her support.”

Fondest moments

Playing volleyball for over 10 years, Gurtiza has been able to form a lot of different memories, thanks to the sport.

Her first big memory comes for one of her club teams.

“My team broke off and created a whole new team,” Gurtiza said. “We created a whole new team so we we’re the only team at this whole club and usually you have 11 or eight teams for an age division. And so everywhere we went it was ‘who’s this team?’ and we ended up having a really good season and we ended second at Nationals.

“It really kind of put the club’s name Pohaku on the map, and just knowing that team was a huge part of that club’s success now means a lot.”

Another memory that comes to mind is in her sophomore season against no other than CMU’s biggest rival, Western Michigan University.

“That was a super fun-weekend and we beat them in five (sets), twice,” Gurtiza said. “The match on senior night ... I felt like there were a lot of emotions going into that game knowing that it was senior night.”

Off the court

While Gurtiza is a full-time athlete and student, she manages to find time for herself and do other things that she enjoys.

“I like to go hammock,” Gurtiza said. “I found this little spot in Island Park by the river, and I like to journal or color. We used to paint a lot as a team. We’d have a lot of paintings that we do as a group, so we would have a paint night.

“Basically, I just like to be outside a lot, go to Ponder (Coffee), hang out with my friends; and I like to go on drives to listen to music, especially during the sunset.”

If you find yourself at a CMU volleyball match, be on the lookout for Gurtiza and her signature hairdo. The bun with little braids on the top is the only pregame ritual she needs before going out on the court.

“My freshman and sophomore year I switched between the braid in my hair and the bubbles,” Gurtiza said. “Me and Anna Erickson (CMU outside hitter volleyball alumna) actually twinned every single game. ... If we won, we would keep that hairstyle for the next game and then if we lost, we would switch (it) up. I have a lot of hair and it’s a lot easier (if) it’s not in my face. ... I finally figured out how to keep it up without falling down, so I’ve been rocking it this season.”