Leadership displayed by volleyball veteran

Some athletes are more than just strong players, but are also strong leaders who try to share their experience and lead their team by example.

This is the case of Melanie Raquel of the Contra Costa College volleyball team. She is not only an excellent, experienced player, but she is also a leader on the team.

Raquel grew up in Oakland, Calif. and started playing volleyball when she was 10 years old for Club Kalani. She attended St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda where she played varsity volleyball her sophomore through senior years.

When she graduated, she said she began training with the San Francisco State volleyball team and after taking a year off,  decided to come play for CCC.

Raquel said volleyball is her favorite sport and something she enjoys doing.

"I like to play aggressively and hard. I like hitting the floor," she said. She hopes that she is able to bring her experience to the court and help the Comets have a successful season. "I want to help (the team) on game days," she said.

Coach Zachary Shrieve had only positive things to say about Raquel as a person and as a player.

"Melanie has a really good attitude and always brings good energy and a lot of effort to the court. She is always on the ground," he said.

With her experience she is able to lead by example and effort, showing her teammates how to aggressively dive for the ball and get it off the ground.

Shrieve describes her play as scrappy. "Scrappy means you have a real nose for the ball, you get to the ball wherever it is on the court. You dive, you hit off your face or arm, whatever you have to do," he said.

She is also friendly and well liked by everyone on the team. Freshman Lynn Iosua calls Raquel inspirational.

"She is very inspirational when it comes to games. At the beginning of games, she always has something to say. She is always positive, she never gives up and she is a really good leader," she said.

Iosua uses Raquel's experience to make herself an even better player as they spend lots of time practicing passing together. "She is one of our strongest players, she is always on top of her game and she never gives up," she said.

Raquel likes to travel and visit her family in Kauai, Hawaii. She has also traveled to Italy, France and to the Philippines, where her parents are from. She loves to take road trips to Southern California to visit her friends.

"I just like to be at home with my family or my boyfriend, watching movies and eating," she said.

Shrieve knows Raquel will be successful in the future.

"Mel's tenacity in what she does in volleyball will carry over to whatever she ends up doing in life. That's her personality. I don't have any worries about her future."

Contact Hilberth Ibarra at  hibarra.advocate@gmail.com.