MCC’s Suzy Cordova sings with Bluefield College in Virginia

MCC's Suzy Cordova sings with Bluefield College in Virginia

McCook Community College sophomore Suzy Cordova has signed a letter of intent to continue her career at Bluefield College in Virginia, an NCAA Division II school.

Like her classmates, the middle-blocker from Poudre High School in Fort Collins, Colo., had the start of her freshman campaign pushed back from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021, because of Covid-19.

 She was just one month into her career when an injury, ended her freshman year and ultimately prevented her from getting on the court for the fall 2021 season. She did appear in 11 matches before her injury and had 24 kills, averaging .71 kills per set. She had a season-high seven kills in a Jan. 23 match against Eastern Wyoming.

She spent this past fall on the sidelines as a student assistant.

"This was kind of a spur of the moment thing, Suzy didn't play for us this fall because she was redshirted from an injury that happened last season, but they had her field of study and it was almost meant to be," said MCC Coach Hayley Kobza.

The coach believes Cordova will be able to play right away if her health allows. "Right now, middles are like unicorns… if you are a middle or have the potential to be a middle, coaches need those and that's exactly what happened at Bluefield, they needed a middle and even though she hasn't played there, they are willing to take that gamble and work with her," Kobza said. "Plus they have a really good exercise science program to help her rehab back to playing, that's even better."

The Rams finished the season with a 20-12 record and fourth place regular season finish in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament.

Cordova said the combination of everything led to a decision that will take her away from McCook mid-semester.

"I'm ready to move on. I love it here but it's time for me to move forward," Cordova said.

She has fond memories of her teammates, the student rushing the court after a win, and a memorable game against North Platte.

"Even though that was the game I got injured, I felt it was my best game, I was feeling confident and the North Platte game is always such a rivalry," Cordova said.

This fall she was on the sidelines to witness a game when, because of a substitution error, libero Kaylee Palmieri had to play the front row, but was able to stuff someone at the net. She takes many fond memories with her especially all the dance parties held in their Brooks Hall dorm rooms.

Kobza said even though Cordova was unable to suit up this fall for MCC, the sophomore was a major part of the team as an assistant.

"If we had a game where we lost, the feedback from Suzy was valuable because if you sit on the sidelines and can't play, you see the volleyball game completely different and so she did a really good job with our feedback and being a good student assistant for us," Kobza said. "We all wish her well."