Texas native Alex Jessett, now an East Carolina sophomore, great teammate and player of the ECU volleyball team played in 30 of East Carolinas 31 matches as a freshman and saw action in 83 sets. Her defensive skills earned her 94 digs to average 1.13 per set while getting 23 assists and three services aces in her rookie season!
She finished her rookie career with a career best of 9 digs against UCF while also earning her career high in assists against UCF as well with 5.
However, when Alex was just a young fourth grader she really had no interest in it at all. Volleyball happened by chance, by the influence of the Volleyball coach at her school. The team did not have enough members at the time. So, she signed up, tried out, made the team and it took off from there!
As she grew up with the game she had different aspirations and goals. A big one for Jessett was reaching the next level after high school. The desire to play volleyball at a college level pushed her to go above and beyond in the game.
Signing was and still is to this day her biggest accomplishment and the moment she is most proud of.” I had all my coaches in the room, my parents and all my friends. It was a really good day.”
Now that she has made it to a Division 1 team, her inspiration comes from a love for the game and a love to do well for herself and her teammates. Also, things like winning, seeing posters and tweets of ECU volleyball and knowing she is on that team is “fun” to her and keep her going. Traits you can still see in her today.
Behind it all, and who has been by her side since the beginning her brother CJ Jessett. Jessett credits him as the person who has played the biggest role throughout her volleyball journey. He was an athlete himself, running track for the University of Texas. “Do what you love and have fun. When you stop having fun do not do it”, was the advice from her brother she carries with her. This helps her remember to make it what she wants and have fun and enjoy the game.
But, the road of an athlete isn’t always a bed of roses. During pre-season her freshman year one of her teammates threw the ball and it ended up hitting Alex in the head causing a concussion and forced her to sit out the rest of pre-season. This was a really tough time for Alex, because for most teams, pre-season is a really big time for bonding and she felt sort of left out, like she was not able to contribute to the team in the way she wanted to.
Jessett is originally from Texas. Moving to North Carolina she said, “The people are nicer.” and that is something she also witnesses within her own school. Now, it is hard to be an ECU Pirate without being the biggest fan of your school. That’s what stands out about ECU to Jessett. Their school spirt is a really big factor to her and she likes how everyone is so “hardcore” Pirates! “The school spirit is intense and the atmosphere is great! Everyone just wants to have a good time all the time and it is great”. Spoken like a true Pirate.
When asked about a favorite team memory Jessett shared a pretty funny story! What she describes as the “best moment they’ve ever had” was when they were at Tulane in the locker room before practice and some of the upperclassmen put a toy rat in a suitcase and when they opened up their suit case and saw it caused quite the frenzy!
In her free time when she isn’t playing or hitting the gym, Alex enjoys hanging out with her friends, eating, watching “ONCE UPON A TIME”, and sleeping like the typical college student.
A couple of random fun facts she wants you to know: She really likes tuna. She has seven dogs. She wants to travel and live in a hut in Africa while being a member of the Peace Corps and she does not kill bugs because “who am I to take a life’?
