Zuzana Cizova is entering her third season with the Hampton University volleyball program, serving as a volunteer assistant coach, assisting first-year head coach Karen Weatherington. Her primary responsibilities include working on the Lady Pirates’ defensive sets, as well as day-to-day team management, opponent scouting, video review and game-day analysis.
Cizova was on-staff in 2012, when the Lady Pirates set a new program Division I record with 19 wins, going 9-3 in the MEAC before making their second straight MEAC Tournament appearance. Hampton advanced to the semifinals for the second straight season, before falling to eventual champion Maryland Eastern Shore in a hard-fought semifinal match.
Krista Kraskura and Bibiany Fonseca each earned All-MEAC honors in 2012, while Vendula Strakova, who was top-10 nationally in three separate offensive categories, was named to the MEAC All-Tournament Team.
Cizova’s arrival at Hampton was just one of the reasons the Lady Pirates found success in 2011, winning 13 matches and advancing to the MEAC Tournament for the first time since 2008 — and winning the first MEAC Tournament match in program history, beating defending MEAC champion South Carolina State in four sets in the quarterfinals
Cizova attended Saint Petersburg (Fla.) Community College from 2007-08, where she was a First Team All-Conference selection with 5.1 kills per set, before she transferred to San Jacinto (Texas) Community College. There, she was named Region XIV Conference Player of the Year and earned All-America honors in 2008-09, finishing fifth in the nation in kills. San Jacinto finished the season fifth in the country, as Cizova averaged 4.36 kills and 4.13 digs per set.
From there, Cizova transferred to Div. II Cal State-Los Angeles, where she graduated with a degree in psychology in 2011. She was a Second Team All-Conference selection in 2009 after recording 283 kills and 286 digs, on top of earning California Collegiate Athletic Association Newcomer of the Year honors.
She then earned First Team honors in 2010, on top of winning the Cal State-Los Angeles Best Offensive Player award. Cizova also received the Billie Jean King Scholarship and the Exceptional Student-Athlete Award in 2010.
A native of Zlin, Czech Republic, Cizova was on the VKKP BRNO Club Team that won the national championship in 2005, 2006 and 2007. She enjoys playing tennis, horseback riding, beach volleyball and hiking.
