Volleyball: Pittsburgh rooted deep in Stadelman, Hodnik

Unconditional love for Pittsburgh? Check.

Blue collar work ethics? Check.

Steelers fanatics? Check.

It’s no wonder two Pitt women’s volleyball players — senior Melissa Stadelman and sophomore Allyson Hodnik — can’t seem to hide their city spirit.

It would certainly be a difficult task, and it’s not like they’re trying.

“I can’t see myself not settling down one day here in Pittsburgh,” Stadelman said. “It makes my heart happy when I hear ‘yinz.’”

For them, a Terrible Towel isn’t an accessory, it’s a necessity. They could probably whip up a perfect Roethlis-burger with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind their backs.

Both of these native Pittsburghers have an immeasurable love for their city in common, but they also share an equally immeasurable love for volleyball.

But before they became starters this season, they had to earn a roster spot their freshman year.

When Stadelman graduated from Carrick High School in the South Hills, she knew she wanted to play volleyball at Pitt. She even knew then-head coach Chris Beerman from attending his volleyball camps at her high school, as well as at the University.

She caught the coach’s attention with hard work.

Stadelman was recruited as a walk-on and was redshirted her freshman year before earning a scholarship this season.

Stadelman said Beerman noticed her after one of the last camps he worked at Carrick High School.

“He said, ‘Alright, you work hard. Come on,’” Stadelman said. “I think it was my work ethic that got me on the team, because I wasn’t trained very well. I was pretty raw, but I showed I had heart and he took me.”

Hodnik took a different route to Pitt’s starting lineup.

After a AAA All-State selection at North Allegheny High School in 2006, she gave up volleyball competitively during her first semester at Pitt. She turned down the recruiting pursuits of other schools.

“It was really tough,” Hodnik said. “Luckily, it worked out really well. I definitely missed the high competition. I played club [volleyball] and it was a lot of fun and everything, but I was looking for the games every weekend — high-level, more serious competition.”

That’s where the volleyball team came in — and Stadelman remembered Hodnik making the team.

“We needed a setter,” she said about Hodnik.

The two are all about Pittsburgh — all the time. They grew up here, they’re attending school here and they don’t plan on living anywhere else.

Stadelman said her house is even visible from the Fitzgerald Field House, where Pitt hosts its volleyball matches.

But Oakland is still just far enough away from the South Side slopes for her.

“I even feel away from home because when I was younger, I never went to Oakland. It’s not my backyard. Even being here, it doesn’t feel like home, but it’s close enough where I can still go home,” Stadelman said.

Hodnik said both of her parents come to every game — home and away — in which she plays. That’s dedication, considering Pitt has played road games at Louisville, Ky., Albuquerque, N.M., Washington, D.C. and Tampa, Fla., this year.

“They like to bring me care packages,” Hodnik said. “Maybe some home-cooked food.”

Hodnik, who is a junior academically, is considering what to do after graduation. She will either go to graduate school and use her fourth year of playing eligibility or give up that year and get a job.

“Either way, it shouldn’t be tough to stay here,” she said.

Stadelman, on the other hand, wants to become a missionary after graduation, which means she’ll spend two years away from Pittsburgh.

“The Lord might take me away from Pittsburgh for a few years,” she said. “But hopefully I’ll bring my Terrible Towel and my jersey and represent. We have to spread the love of the Steelers.”

As for the Terrible Towel, Stadelman said both she and Hodnik carry one in their backpacks at all times.

“We get upset because we have to travel and we miss the games,” Hodnik said.

“We lose a lot of sleep over missing these games,” Stadelman said.

As if they weren’t serious enough, Pitt volleyball coach Toby Rens said the first question the two asked his assistant coaching candidates over the summer was, “‘Are you a Steelers fan?’” Rens said with a laugh.

It must have worked.

“Well, the ones who said they weren’t didn’t get the job,” he said.