Classroom work gives Buhach Colony volleyball star a chance to follow her dream
Buhach Colony High senior Miranda Baptista is getting a shot at following her dream.
The Thunder star has been invited to walk-on the women’s volleyball team at the University of the Pacific this fall. For Baptista, it’s a foot in the door to an opportunity to play Division I college volleyball.
“I was a pretty late recruit so there wasn’t money for the first year,” Baptista said. “As the years go on I have the potential to earn a scholarship.”
Baptista will be able to get help financially through academic scholarships. She has been able to maintain a 4.3 GPA at Buhach Colony. She plans to major in psychology.
“If it wasn’t for the academic scholarship it probably wouldn’t have worked out for me at Pacific,” Baptista said. “It’s a very expensive school. It worked out I could find an alternate way to get money. If I didn’t work hard in the classroom I don’t think this opportunity would be here for me.”
Baptista has always done well in the classroom. It’s not an area her parents had to worry about with her. She said it started in elementary school.
“When I was at McSwain Elementary I was so scared not to do my homework because I wanted to avoid detention,” she said. “It just stuck with me. I’ve always done my homework.”
Her work ethic came from her parents. She says she would see her father, Johnnie, leave for work at 3 a.m. some mornings and not come home until 10 p.m..
“I know how hard my parents have worked to give me and my siblings the life we have,” Baptista said. “My dad has sacrificed so much of what he’s earned for me to play club volleyball all these years.”
Baptista’s hard work carried over to her passion, which is volleyball.
“She is an extremely talented athlete with an amazing volleyball IQ,” said Buhach Colony coach Emili Rivera. “She can see what happens on both sides of the court very well.”
Baptista played multiple positions in high school earning Central California Conference MVP honors in 2018 and all-CCC first-team selection in 2019.
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She’s headed to UOP as a setter, which is her full-time position during club season.
Pacific was always on Baptista’s radar during her recruiting process because of her relationship with Tigers coach Greg Gibbons. Baptista played for Gibbons when she was 12 and 13 years old on the Ripon Rage club volleyball team.
“There were a bunch of reasons I picked Pacific,” Baptista said. “One is I very much like the coach, Greg Gibbons. When I was 12 and 13 he was my club coach. He’s awesome. I love him as a coach. He’s a good person who cares about his players. That’s the type of environment I was looking for, a coach who cares about you as a person and not just as an athlete.”
Although Baptista’s recruiting journey had a happy ended, it was a road with a lot of twists and turns.
Baptista drew different levels of interest from schools like Chico State, Fresno State, Rhode Island, Cal Baptist, U.C. Riverside, and Azuza Pacific.
However, none of the programs came forward with a scholarship offer.
“Every time a college didn’t work out either on their end, or I knew it wasn’t the place for me, after the phone call that ended it, I would just cry,” she said. “It’s so embarrassing. I had all these friends committing to schools. I was happy for them, but I would think, maybe I’m not supposed to play volleyball in college. Maybe it’s not for me. But then I would think I played for so long. I don’t feel like stopping.”
Baptista considered taking the junior college rout to eventually ending up at a four-year school.
However, she wanted her opportunity to prove she could play at the Division I level.
“It’s been something I have been dreaming about,” Baptista said. “It’s something I’ve been working toward since I knew about college volleyball. I’ve worked so hard throughout the years and sacrificed so much. I know what I can do and what I can achieve.”
