By Student Assistant Sara Vierra '15

Chelsea Heier (CH) had an outstanding freshman season at Marquette, and is now ready to continue her success with the Broncos. Transferring to Santa Clara University (SCU) as a sophomore, Heier is most excited to be continuing her education in California and being closer to her family while she dominates on the court. 

Beginning her volleyball career in her hometown of San Clemente, Calif., Heier's success continued at Marquette University as she was named the 2011 Big East Conference Freshman of the Year and selected as member of the All-Big East Second-Team. She ranked No. 7 nationally in assists per game with 11.89.  She finished the 2011 season as No. 2 on Marquette's single season assists list with 1,498.

Santa Clara Broncos (SCU) sat down with Heier to find out a little bit more about her expectations and goals for the upcoming season and school year: 

SCU: As a new student at Santa Clara University (SCU), what are you most excited about?

CH: I am most excited about starting my education back in California and closer to my family. Of course, I am excited to play volleyball, too!

SCU: What are you most nervous about?

CH: I am most nervous about starting new again and finding my place at SCU.

SCU: Do you think that the transition from Marquette to Santa Clara will be difficult?

CH: I don't think the transition will be too hard because Marquette and Santa Clara are similar schools and have similar programs. Hopefully it will be easy to start where I left off.

SCU: You are a Liberal Studies major and your career goal is to be an elementary school teacher.  What made you decide to transfer?

CH: A transition from Marquette to Santa Clara seemed better for me in the long run. There are opportunities at SCU for my education that I may not have gotten at Marquette, such as being close to a big city. I hope to gain experience in inner-city classrooms for later on in my career.

SCU: What will you miss most about Marquette and Wisconsin?

CH: Believe it or not, I will actually miss the winter and snow the most.

SCU: What are your athletic goals for the upcoming season?

CH: I hope to help my team improve as much as I can. As a program, we are all looking forward to big accomplishments in the future.

SCU: What other collegiate team are you most excited to face? Is there a particular reason?

CH: I am most excited to face the Pac-12 teams, because they usually seem to be very high competition, which I am always a fan of.