University Southern California Trojans
B1G Impact
September 19, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
USC graduate transfer Emily Fitzner proves a difference maker, leader for the Trojans
Emily Fitzner had every reason to be nervous walking into Holloway Gymnasium. The gold and black lettering on the court, the noisy fans packing the seats, familiar foes across the court. Stood opposite of her, a team she had never beaten in her four-year collegiate volleyball career. But this time was different. This time, she was a Trojan.
“I kept telling myself, ‘I’ve been here before.’ I know this gym, I know the crowd,” Fitzner said. “I was pretty comfortable, super excited to play there because I had a really good feeling that we were gonna do well against them. After the first set, I was like ‘We got this’. I’ve never had that feeling in that gym before.”
Fitzner–a graduate transfer setter–traded the Crimson and Cream of Indiana for the Cardinal and Gold of USC in the offseason. And thanks in big part to Fitzner’s effort, the Trojans knocked off the No. 17 ranked Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind. in four sets (30-28, 15-25, 25-23, 25-23). It was the ultimate full-circle moment for a lifetime volleyball player.
A product of Big Ten volleyball herself, Fitzner joined the Trojans at an opportune time, a year before USC makes its move to the conference she just left. The San Diego native is back home in Southern California, and her veteran presence and timely contributions are lifting USC women’s volleyball on its five-match win streak heading into Pac-12 conference play.
“Emily is one of the most mature individuals. She’s a true professional,” USC women’s volleyball head coach Brad Keller said. “And not only a true professional but an incredible human. You combine those two together, it makes it really fun to be around her, really fun to train her, really fun for her to help guide this team.”
Friday’s match against Purdue was Fitzner’s breakout, a moment she’s been waiting for all season. This time around, her opportunity to shine came when junior Mia Tuaniga left the match with an injury.
“Seeing that, I got a little nervous,” Fitzner said. “My first couple of sets [I felt] nervous, but then I just calmed down. It just started flowing.”
Replacing Tuaniga’s production was no small task. The Trojans’ starter had 24 assists, five digs, and a service ace before exiting the match early in the third set. Fitzner finished the night with 30 assists and nine digs, both numbers blowing her season totals in those categories out of the water.
“Emily is one of the hardest working people on our team,” graduate student libero Ellie Snook said. “She comes in and gives 100 percent, always staying for extra reps. She got to be part of beating Purdue. It was instant tears for her after the game.”
Fitzner’s career arc at Indiana followed a somewhat similar course to her season at USC so far: She had to work for playing time. After playing 126 sets as a freshman in 2019, she registered 120 combined in her sophomore and junior years.
Her senior season saw her carve out more of a role on the court — a team captain who played in 82 sets. She also hit the centurion mark in appearances in, coincidentally, a match against Purdue.
As Fitzner’s four years in the Midwest came to a close, she had home on her mind. Returning to the West Coast, closer to her family was a priority.
“I always thought about it,” Fitzner said. “My family is here, I wanna be close to them. Being back on the West Coast was kind of a no-brainer for me. Having USC as an option was insane.”
Fitzner’s family, rooted in San Diego, is full of athletes from all ends of the sporting world. Her mother was an All-American setter for Hawai’i before spending time playing professionally on the AVP beach volleyball tour. Her father, a basketball player at Stanford. Brothers Evan and Bryce played basketball and football respectively at power five schools.
Turns out having an All-American volleyball player for a mom helps development as a player and leader, and Fitzner said her mom was never “that parent that was crazy” at her matches.
“I’m grateful she was super chill at all my tournaments,” Fitzner said. “She was always there for me whenever I needed some volleyball advice or anything [about] the team and leadership.”
It wasn’t just her immediate family she wanted to be closer to though — Fitzner mentioned aunts, cousins and grandparents alike when talking about her decision to come home. To get back to SoCal, she called upon a connection made way back in her high school years. Fitzner and USC had crossed paths once before. She was committed to the Trojans before deciding to go to Indiana due to coaching staff changes.
This time around, she was interested in playing not indoor but beach volleyball, a sport which she has never played at the collegiate level.
“I’m excited to see what [the beach volleyball] dynamic is like, especially with a top beach program,” Fitzner said. “I’m ready, but there’s also gonna be some nerves there.”
While in the process of committing to USC for grad school and to play beach volleyball, now-USC associate head coach Spencer McLachlin, who coached Fitzner at Indiana in 2022, dropped the news that he had taken a job with the Trojans. A visit later, and Fitzner was committed to playing both indoor and beach at USC.
“[Her leadership] is a big reason why I wanted her to be in this gym,” McLachlin said. “She’s a leader in [that] she walks the walk. She’s more of a mom figure, making sure that everyone’s taken care of. At the same time, she’s bringing people with her before practice to get reps and stay late.”
During the preseason, it was Fitzner in the gym first and out of the gym last, and her behavior became contagious.
“When we started our double days, she was the only one up here early,” Keller said. “She goes, ‘Is this normal?’ All of a sudden, all of these players started following her and coming up here for extra reps without us [coaches] even knowing about it.”
Fitzner knows her job as a leader in the locker room is just as important as on the court.
“I’m here trying to lead by example,” Fitzner said, “just trying to take care of the [freshmen] and help them throughout their experience.”
As a setter, Fitzner uses her court vision to pick out spots and put her teammates in positions to make plays. She’s translated that vision into the classroom by picking up a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Indiana. Now, she’s taking graduate classes in entrepreneurship and innovation at the USC Marshall School of Business.
In her last season of collegiate indoor volleyball, it’s not lost on Fitzner that her time playing the sport she loves is running out.
“I like to be in the moment,” Fitzner said. “Typically when we’re all lined up [before a game] and people are getting introduced, I’m looking around, taking in the moment … just being present.”
The Trojans now stand at the precipice of conference play, and after dropping four of their first five matches, they’ve won five straight. They’ll start with a bang: a rivalry matchup against UCLA in Westwood Wednesday Sept. 20.
“We’re just gonna keep going up this season,” Fitzner said. “Everybody’s super excited and super motivated to see what we can do.”
