Staying Cool Under Pressure Became Diana Grubb’s Trademark

PALISADIAN-POST CUP AWARDS

Diana Grubb’s value to the teams she plays for is not always reflected on the stat sheet. What stands out most are not her numbers, but rather the way she plays and the innate ability she has to lift her own level of play and that of her teammates when it matters most. Those winning attributes have served Grubb well at Palisades High, where she received the Palisadian-Post’s annual Post Cup Award last Friday as the school’s outstanding senior athlete. Grubb earned All-City honors in both volleyball and soccer, following in the footsteps of her sister, Charlotte, who won the award in 2003. ‘When my sister won, that’s when I first started to think about whether I might be able to win it too,’ Diana recalls. ‘I called the next day to tell her and she was so happy for me.’ But while she participates in the same sports as her sister, Diana plays different positions. On the volleyball court, Charlotte was a middle blocker while Diana is a setter like her older brother, Edward, himself a 2001 Pali alum. And on the soccer field, Charlotte played midfield while Diana is primarily a defender. ‘At first I felt some pressure to live up to the standards my sister set but it was good for me,’ Diana admits. ‘And eventually I learned to distinguish myself from her. We each have our own personality and we have different strengths.’ Perhaps Grubb’s biggest challenge in volleyball last fall was having to adjust to a new head coach for the fourth straight year’not an easy assignment for a player responsible for running the offense. ‘A setter has to be the leader on the floor,’ she says. ‘So of course it helps when you know the system inside and out. It’s not easy when you’re trying to implement new plays all the time.’ Still, Grubb provided leadership on a young team that was talented but not as mentally tough as that which had won the City title her junior year. In her last high school match last November, Grubb had 20 assists, seven digs and three aces. Grubb went through a phase where she liked volleyball more, but Pali’s run to the City finals in March rekindled her passion for soccer. ‘I love playing both sports, but for different reasons. Volleyball is exhilarating and you have a lot of on-court energy whereas soccer is very physically demanding but not quite as intense every second.’ The hardest aspect of being a two-sport athlete for Grubb was the quick transition she had to make from one to the other. Because the Dolphins advanced to the second round of the City Section playoffs, volleyball overlapped the start of the soccer season, meaning she had no time off in between seasons. But like every other obstacle Grubb has faced in high school, she took the transition in stride. ‘I actually liked going right from one to the other,’ Grubb says. ‘We fell short in volleyball so I was really motivated to do well in soccer, especially knowing it was my last season. That first soccer practice was the hardest. It took about a week and a half to get used to it, but I adjusted pretty well. It helped that I was already in shape from volleyball.’ Though it struggled at times during the season, Palisades’ soccer team hit its stride in the playoffs and advanced to the championship game for the first time in the program’s history. Grubb was one of four senior starters and her steady play was vital to the Dolphins’ success. ‘If I had to pick one memory that stands out I’d have to say it was beating Granada Hills in the semifinals in soccer,’ Grubb says. ‘It was a huge upset because they were seeded much higher than us. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that game, yet we somehow found a way to pull through in the end.’ Grubb’s positive attitude and ability to rise above the competition have served her well not only in athletics, but in the classroom as well. She walked out of Mercer Hall with more than just her Post Cup plaque’she also received the Rose Gilbert Woman Scholar-Athlete Award as well as three other scholarships. Asked to name her favorite classes at Pali, Grubb cited Mr. Van Loo’s Environmental Science and Ms. Hataishi’s Math Analysis. ‘I’ve been ready for the next step since the end of soccer season,’ Grubb says. ‘But when I reflect on my time here, what I’ll miss most are the people and the sports.’ Though her high school career ends with tonight’s graduation, Grubb is looking forward to college life at the University of Connecticut, where she hopes to play club volleyball and soccer. ‘I wanted to go to college on the East Coast and when I took a tour, I loved the school spirit there and the campus is beautiful. I’m excited to be a Husky.’ And if the success Grubb enjoyed as a Dolphin is any indication, the Huskies are lucky to get her.