On February 3, 2021 Julia Gladhill signed her National Letter of Intent to play volleyball for the Division I Spartans at South Carolina Upstate. Her time in the sun–the Atlantic Sun Conference–is just beginning.

“Julia came into the program with so much talent. She worked tirelessly to continue that growth, especially from a confidence standpoint,” Gladhill’s coach, Andrea Poffinberger said. 

When Gladhill first started playing volleyball, it came very naturally to her. 

“I had to learn rotations, good technique and things like that, but the basics came naturally,” Gladhill said. “Watching my sister play on her club team inspired me to play. I’m a very competitive person, so watching her compete made me want to start playing. I was always in the gym, watching her prepping with my dad, so I think it was always a given that I would play volleyball at some point.”

Gladhill has been preparing for this for a long time. She started on her first club team at just eight years old. Little did she know she would get a scholarship for her competitiveness on the court just nine years later.

“Julia currently holds the Linganore High School Dig record at 1,045 digs with one season to go,” Poffinberger said.

Gladhill has excelled during her time on the team. Not only does she hold the dig record, she also earned the most valuable player award during her junior year, and was selected for the CMC 1st team 2 years in a row.

“I have enjoyed playing with all of my teammates at Linganore. My junior year I enjoyed playing with Tatum Hart. We have been friends outside volleyball, so it was fun being able to play with her,” Gladhill said. 

“My parents are my biggest supporters. They have always encouraged and pushed me to be the greatest I can be,” Gladhill said. “They’ve given me so much support throughout the years.”

Her parents, Jeff and Jen Gladhill are very proud of her accomplishments. And they’re excited to see her talent expand to the next level. 

“Our proudest achievement is a tie between Julia breaking the dig record for Linganore her junior year and competing on the very highest level of competition in the region,” Gladhill’s parents said.

Her parents know she is ready to take on playing volleyball Upstate. They provided Gladhill with important questions to think about while choosing her college, but overall it was her decision on where to commit to. 

“I decided to commit to the University of South Carolina Upstate because of the coaching, academics and overall atmosphere. They have an amazing coaching staff, a great education program and good people to be around to make me a better person, teammate and player,” Gladhill said. 

She is very excited about getting to know her new teammates and playing volleyball at a higher level, She also plans to major in early Child Education at USC. 

“I plan to become a kindergarten or first grade teacher. I would like to continue to play volleyball as well,” Gladhill said.