Born and raised in Rome, Italy, Flavia Virgili found herself at two different colleges before finding a home on Point Loma Nazarene University’s volleyball team for her final undergraduate year. Nearly five years later, she returned home to help coach the very team she played for as they entered the 2024 PacWest Conference season undefeated.
Virgili moved to the United States in 2015 at 19 years old to play for San Diego Mesa College’s volleyball team, where she competed in both indoor and beach volleyball for two seasons. After graduating with her associate’s degree, she wanted to attend PLNU, but due to another player being recruited for her position, she played for Cal State San Bernardino’s 2017-18 season. In 2019, she connected again with PLNU head coach Jonathan Scott and was able to transfer for her final year.
“I always had the dream to play college volleyball,” Virgili said. “I persevered and I’m proud of that.”
When reminiscing on what playing volleyball provided her, Virgili said it was an escape of sorts.
“When I play, I don’t think about anything else,” she said. “I go into a different dimension, where nothing else matters but what I’m doing right there. It allows me to be in the present.”
After graduating in 2019 with a degree in psychology, Virgili returned to PLNU volleyball as a graduate assistant in 2021, working with the team like a typical coach would, all while earning her master’s in sports management.
Virgili has played volleyball for about 12 years. She and her friends, who she considers sisters, grew up playing on the same club team.
“It [club volleyball] just sparked something in me,” Virgili said. “I got a lot of encouragement from my mother; she pushed me to pursue my dream of college volleyball. I poured my heart and soul into it and got the results I wanted.”
Virgili’s family has impacted her life on and off the court. With a half American, half Italian mother and an Italian father, she said she carries her culture with her as she plays.
“Family’s a huge part of who I am,” she said. “I now know more than ever how many sacrifices were made in order for me to pursue my dreams, and for that I will always be so grateful.”
With moving to a different country and leaving family, the culture shock was no small feat to adjust to, Virgili said. The volleyball was different.
“In Italy, we focus a lot on technique, lots of repetition,” she said. “Here, it’s much more physical; the focus is more on strength and conditioning.”
Nonetheless, she used her differences in training to her advantage and recognized she had a lot to offer with her international experience, she said.
Virgili got her first coaching job as a volunteer assistant for San Diego Mesa College’s indoor and beach teams where she was from 2018-2023. During that time, she also coached for Coast Volleyball Club and still does today. The club season begins during PLNU’s off season in the spring.
Having once been in the team’s shoes as a PLNU volleyball alumna, Virgili’s strength as a coach is being able to relate to the players.
“Knowing how hard it is to be a student athlete, I can help in being empathetic with them,” Virgili said. “I love the program and this is full-circle for me, being able to come back and impact the team in a different way.”
There were a lot of candidates for the assistant coaching position, according to head coach Jonathan Scott. But he said he didn’t feel that any were the “right one,” until he talked with Virgili and saw the ways she had grown as a coach with all of her experience.
“She’s able to relate to the team, being a former player in this program,” Scott said. “She can see the game from both the player’s and coach’s perspective.”
Anna Massari, team captain and current MBA (Master of Business Administration) student who graduated from PLNU in 2024 with a marketing degree, said she believes Virgili has a lot to contribute, especially in the back line.
“We are so grateful to have her; she is such a light and provides a high IQ (intelligence quotient) of volleyball,” Massari said. “Because she’s an alumna, she’s done it before, she’s been in our shoes. She’s a big part of why we’re having a lot of success.”
The goal for PLNU’s 2024 season is to win the national championship and enjoy the process along the way, Virgili said.
They’re currently on a 7-0 winning streak, according to PLNU athletics. Their next home game is Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. against Concordia University.
