Hunter College women's volleyball junior outside hitter Taylor Haiduk was selected as the CUNYAC/HSS Senior College Scholar-Athlete of the Month for September 2017.
"To be named the CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month is a huge honor," Haiduk said. "It shows me that all of the hard work that I put in does not go unnoticed."
Haiduk led Hunter to a 10-2 record in September, catapulting the Hawks to the top of the CUNYAC standings. She paced the team in kills (110) and service aces (22) and led the league with an average of 3.24 kills per set.
Additionally, Haiduk was a two-time CUNYAC Player of the Week last month and finished as the runner-up in the voting for CUNYAC Preseason Player of the Year.
Off the court, Haiduk boasts a stellar 3.79 cumulative grade-point average in Human Biology. She has twice garnered CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete accolades and landed on the Dean's List in each of the past four semesters.
"I believe that my mindset is the same when I am on the court or in the classroom," Haiduk commented. "I always give it 100 percent, because I am very driven to be successful in life."
"Taylor is one of my most dedicated players, both on the court and in the classroom," stated Head Coach Alyssa Broccoli. "She has the ability to set goals and achieve them based on her attitude. I am exceptionally lucky to have the opportunity to coach such a strong, resilient young woman."
Haiduk, who plans to be a physical therapist and eventually open her own practice, feels that the sport she loves is the weight that balances her responsibilities as a student-athlete.
"I feel as though volleyball helps me stay more organized, than it would if I didn't play," Haiduk said. "Since I know my volleyball schedule ahead of time, it helps me plan out when I am going to do my work to ensure everything is done on time. My team also has a study hall in which we have to complete three hours in the library together."
Haiduk then added: "Collegiate athletics has taught me that everything is not always going to go your way. Life is not a measure of your successes and failures, but rather how you bounce back when things don't go your way. After every tough loss or test that I know I could have done better on, it motivates me to focus on the next game or test, so that I can improve on how I did before."