29. Julie Vollertsen Melli
Volleyball / Palmyra / Born: 1959
QUICK FACTS:
Played for: Palmyra High, U.S. junior national team, U.S. national team, Nelson Reggio Emilia pro team
Best moment as an athlete: Playing in front of her family in Iowa City during a tour in 1982. "It was a difficult situation for me. Sometimes I would start, and sometimes I didn't play. That night was just like magic for me. I remember playing so well.'
Volleyball not only carried Julie Vollertsen around the world, but it also led the small-town Nebraska girl to a new life abroad.
Vollertsen, who went straight from Palmyra High School to the world stage with the U.S. national volleyball program, has lived in Italy for 21 years.
The rightside hitter played pro volleyball for four years there after seven years with the U.S. team that included a silver medal performance in the 1984 Olympics.
"We achieved a lot in the four years that we trained for the '84 team,'' she said. "The team never had a national program or never had an official national team. I believe that we started history for volleyball at that time.''
Vollertsen married attorney Leopoldo Melli, whom she met while playing in Italy, and they have two sons, including 14-year-old Nicol, a 6-foot-6 basketball player. They live in Reggio Emilia, a small city in northern Italy.
Vollertsen said she tries to get to Nebraska to visit her family, although it isn't easy because of her sons' activities. She sounds more Italian than American.
"It's become home for sure,'' she said.
-- Marjie Ducey
QUICK FACTS:
Played for: Palmyra High, U.S. junior national team, U.S. national team, Nelson Reggio Emilia pro team
Best moment as an athlete: Playing in front of her family in Iowa City during a tour in 1982. "It was a difficult situation for me. Sometimes I would start, and sometimes I didn't play. That night was just like magic for me. I remember playing so well.'
