Who designed the Pole Pads for the Women’s Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championships?

The beach volleyball courts at the inaugural 2016 NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama looked fantastic.  Former Ohio State volleyball player, Andrea Kacsits from Rockford, Michigan played an important role in the look of the Championship.  Andrea’s design was chosen by the NCAA and featured on the custom pole safety pads throughout the championship courts.  

When asked how she felt about her design being front and center of the NCAA Beach Championship, she said “It is AMAZING! Being a college volleyball player myself, I love that I understand what kind of work goes on the court play wise and design wise. I know what it takes to get to the championship levels that I have designed for and with this experience through Sports Imports, I now know what it means to add a personal touch to a place where I spend the majority of my time.”  

Andrea has an impressive background in volleyball, earning multiple awards while playing for Rockford High School and The Ohio State University.  During her years as a Buckeye, Andrea was named to the Sports Imports Classic All Tournament Team, earned a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, an Academic All-Big Ten Award, a two time OSU Scholar-Athlete selection, and was on the Dean’s list.

Off the court, Andrea was a marketing intern for Sports Imports, where she used her graphic design skills to design custom volleyball pole safety pads.  We asked Andrea how she came up with some of her designs.  She said, “I am an avid Pinterest-er, so from that, print ads, and magazines I am able to pull inspiration. I normally start with an idea in one window in Illustrator, and from there I get another idea, and another, and another, until I have enough ideas that I want to spend time completing.  With the NCAA design, I looked back at assignments I had done in class. I have practiced the “shattered triangle” design I put on the pads in a previous assignment, and adapted it to be what the NCAA had asked for.”

Sports Imports is thankful to have been able to get to know and work with such a multi-faceted young athlete.  Andrea graduated from The Ohio State University on May 8, 2016 with a degree in Communication Technology and a minor in Graphic Design.