To Coley Pawlikowski, volleyball is more than a sport; it’s a career.

An alumna of the NIU volleyball program, Pawlikowski returned in 2009 as an assistant coach and recruiter.

Coaching alongside her husband Dan, she incorporates volleyball into all aspects of her life, all year long. Recently, Pawlikowski became a Thirty Under 30 recipient by the American Volleyball Coaches Association for the second time. The Northern Star talked to Pawlikowski about her award, recruiting duties and how she relaxes.

Northern Star: You are only one of five people to earn the Thirty Under 30 accolade. What does the award mean to you?

Coley Pawlikowski: I was really excited. It’s a pretty cool thing. I’ve been pretty fortunate to have people around me, players and other coaches, who have helped me get to that point. They’ve helped me a lot to position myself to get an award like that.

NS: As recruiting coordinator, what do you look for in a player?

CP: I look for the highest level players in the gym. I go in with the attitude that I can get those kids and find a connection to NIU with them. I truly believe Northern is an awesome place, and we have all the sources and everything in place for student-athletes to have an awesome experience.

I’m pretty confident going after anybody and telling them ‘you are going to have a great career at NIU.’ I think me being a student-athlete here helps that, because I really believe in this place and when I am connecting with kids I can make them see that as well.

NS: You have played and now you coach. Which is more challenging?

CP: I think they are both really easy. I like them both. I knew when I was a senior in high school that I wanted to coach. It’s something that I always wanted to get into.

NS: I know there isn’t really an offseason for you, but what do you do when you are not coaching or recruiting?

CP: My hobby is working out and playing [volleyball]. [Dan and I] still play as much as we possibly can on adult teams. We’re pretty competitive. We won six out of six tournaments in our region. We just won a big one [recently]. Every single weekend, pretty much all year round, we’re either coaching, recruiting or playing.

If we have an off Sunday we fill it with playing. If by chance there’s an off day in the month, we’re going to go play in a tournament somewhere. We also coach club too and that goes December through June. When we end with [NIU,] club is starting up, and when we end club in June our kids are coming in for camp.