Junior Jen Curran has always looked up to her older sisters. From the toys they played with, the clothes they wore and the sport that would inevitably help her become a Division One athlete. These sisterly bonds have helped carry Curran through life, but it all came to fruition when she committed to D1 volleyball at the University of New Hampshire this fall.

Curran has always loved sports, participating in them frequently since she was little, but her love for volleyball didn’t develop until she was in eighth grade.

“I think I knew that I wanted to pursue [volleyball] when I was in middle school, mostly because of my sisters. They’ve always been my role models – my oldest sisters also played volleyball for a little bit, so they’ve always been my role models. I really knew that it was something like I wanted to do during my first club season, as soon as I started playing seriously, I knew it was what I wanted to do,” Curran said.

Curran’s older sister, Lauren, is a constant presence in her life and a key motivator for her decision to join volleyball. But Jen isn’t the only one learning, on and off the court; Lauren is constantly learning from her younger sister, too.

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned from her is how doing the little things can get you towards your goals. After practice, she prioritizes her protein and recovery, and by mirroring her, I have helped myself to be a better athlete. Outside of volleyball, she has always been there if I need something and is always trying to make my day better if I have had a rough day,” Lauren Curran said.

The two sisters have also had the opportunity play on the same team together which strengthened their bond even more.

“I always love playing volleyball with my sisters; I played with my older sister my freshman year on the varsity team so playing with Jen the next year didn’t bother me. It’s like playing with your best friend. I think because we have played together for 3 years now, it has just strengthened our relationship as sisters. We were always close but being on the court and playing together definitely brought us closer,” Lauren Curran said.

Growing a stronger sisterly bond isn’t the only thing that has helped Jen grow to reach her dreams of playing D1. Day after day, Curran trains to not only better herself, but the team as a whole by seeking private lessons and constantly doing strength training to build herself up to be a stronger athlete.

Curran’s freshman year coach, Brett Wolf, details her initial impact on her freshman year team, which showed her coaches how much of an asset she would become to the team.

“Jen’s standout characteristics her freshman year were her determination and energy. When Jen started with us freshman year, she had only been playing volleyball for a short amount of time, and her growth during freshman year was so impressive. Her determination to learn from mistakes and keep pushing until she got the skill right was very admirable for a freshman,” Wolf said.

From just eighth grade to freshman year, Curran was already standing out to coaches and teammates at DGS for her growth and dedication, and it showed when she was moved up to girls varsity volleyball halfway through her freshman year season.

“The moment I knew Jen was probably ready for the jump came in one of our tournaments, we were playing Marist, who is consistently one of the best teams in the state. Jen was absolutely dominating them both offensively and with her block, and I realized then she was playing at another level, and she was ready for varsity if they needed her help. [She] had always been very tall and physical, but the growth in both confidence and skill by the middle of the season was hard to miss,” Wolf said.

Aside from Jen’s physical growth in the sport over the years, volleyball has evolved from being just a sport to becoming a passion.

“I think something that switches is that you start with being excited just to go to practice, but then you become excited to do the work outside of practice. For me, that’s when I noticed the shift. I was excited to do my extra reps and do my lifting, rather than just be excited to go to practice with my team,” Jen Curran said.

All of this growth and dedication throughout the years has led Curran to her verbal commitment to the University of New Hampshire. The commitment process was ongoing since the start of her volleyball career, as college recruiters are constantly on the lookout for their future players. This process ended this past June, which then leaves the responsibility to players to get their names out there.

Curran began sending films and reaching out to schools she was interested in to get her name out there for these colleges. It was in early July that the University of New Hampshire reached out to Curran about their interest in her as a player.

“We had some [phone] calls, and then they invited me out to their camp over the summer. Then I got to see a tour of the school, and that’s when I knew I wanted to commit there,” Jen Curran said.

From just wanting to be more like her sisters to her D1 commitment to the University of New Hampshire, Curran has fallen in love with volleyball, not just as a sport but as a passion.