George Washington University Athletics
Volleyball Alumnae in the Pros
6/29/2021 9:54:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Checking in with Kelsey Clark, Skylar Iott and Jaimeson Lee
Editor's Note: Assistant Coach Brianna Barry worked on this piece and coordinated with our alumna for this feature.
WASHINGTON - GW volleyball has seen three of its own take their respective talents overseas recently following their time in the Buff & Blue. Kelsey Clark ('19), Skylar Iott ('20) and Jaimeson Lee ('20) have all signed professional contracts following successful careers in Foggy Bottom. Clark, Iott and Lee are the latest in a long history of GW graduates continuing their careers professionally overseas. Kristel Moor ('17) and Lauren Whyte ('13) most recently retired from their respective professional teams in 2019.
Clark burst onto the stage as the A-10 Co-Rookie of the Year in 2015 and earned team MVP honors in 2016 before graduating following the 2018 season. In her four years in Buff & Blue, the Chicago native accumulated 924 kills, 509 digs, 235 blocks and 1,116 points across 115 matches and 431 sets.
Iott, the team's 2019 MVP, finished her career with a flourish by earning Atlantic 10 Second Team All-Conference honors in her senior year. One of the greatest outside hitters in program history, Iott finished her career sixth in program history with 1,133 kills and fourth with 3,567 total attempts.
Lee, who earned the 2018 MVP honors, is one of the top setters in program history. She left GW following the 2019 season ranking fourth all-time in career assists with 3,276 after leading the A-10 with 894 assists as a senior. The Austin, Texas, native averaged over 7.4 assists per set during her career that covered 104 matches and 368 sets.
Below is a Q&A with the three, discussing their overseas experience and how GW prepared them for the international stage.
When did you decide you wanted to continue to play after graduation?
Kelsey Clark - "I made the decision around the middle of the pandemic. It seemed like the best time to disrupt my normal routine and go a completely different route."
Skylar Iott - "As my collegiate career was coming to a close and the real world was quickly approaching, I knew I wasn't ready to be done. In fact, the hope to play overseas helped me get through my senior year. Once I knew I was going to continue playing, watching that chapter of my life end wasn't so difficult."
Jaimeson Lee - "I decided I wanted to officially play pro when we were sent home in March (2020) due to the pandemic. That time was very stressful for everyone and having to make career decisions during it was not fun. I was deciding between going to graduate school and playing pro and came to my decision by realizing that I can always return home and go to grad school at any time, but I can't always go and try to play pro."
How did you find the team you are playing on? Did you use an agent?
KC (Playing for University of East London) - "There's a recruiting program for athletes to pursue a master's degree while continuing their respective sporting career in the UK. It's called Play Overseas, and they have been extremely helpful."
SI (Playing for Vitrolles Sport VB) - "I used an agent that my college coach set me up with."
JL (Playing for Las Changas de Naranjito & A.O. Lamias 2013) - "My agent was really helpful in finding options of teams for me to play on. He would tell me about the team and what they were offering and we came to the decision together."
What were you nervous about?
KC - "I would say the two main things I was nervous about were how COVID will affect our season and how I will adjust to graduate level classes. As of now, our season is still up in the air and changing each month. So it's really just a waiting game at this point. But in terms of my school work, graduate school allows a lot more time to focus on a finite amount of things, so it was easy to really create an effective routine."
SI - "I'm nervous about not knowing the language and not being able to connect with my teammates."
JL - "I'm always nervous about leaving home because I am very close with my family. But thankfully the time difference is only one hour so I have plenty of opportunities to FaceTime them."
What is something you noticed that's different playing internationally compared to playing in the US?
KC - "I've noticed language and terminology on the court is a lot different from the US. Also the FIVB rules are different from the NCAA, but I'm catching on pretty quickly. Once we start games it will be a bit more evident how the differences really play out during competition."
SI - "They cheer a lot more than I ever have! You can really see how passionate they are about playing."
JL - "I think in the U.S., players rely a lot on power. Players are a lot taller in the US than overseas. Most of the local players aren't as tall so they have to play savvier by tooling the block or placing shots."
What is something you're looking forward to doing while you're overseas?
KC - "Apart from competing again, I am looking forward to traveling to other places in Europe and surrounding countries. Exploring all of London too, of course!"
SI - "I'm excited to see how the style of play differs from the U.S. I'm also excited to taste the food in France (especially the cheese and wine)."
JL - "I am so excited to learn more about the culture here in Puerto Rico!"
How did GW prepare you for your experience playing internationally?
KC - "GW has helped me establish a vigorous work ethic both on the court and in the classroom that is just second nature at this point. So balancing training, school and any other volleyball obligations has been pretty seamless. Thanks to the coaching staff at GW, I already had a very wide perspective/knowledge about how volleyball is played internationally. Thus, it has been easy to apply the technical and practical skills I've grown here at GW and really see it come to fruition here in London."
SI – "Attending GW meant moving seven hours away from home, which was no easy task. My greatest takeaway from my experience at GW is that I had an amazing support system that became a home away from home. On my tough days, I always had people there for me. Moving to France at first felt like I was going to be lonely for six straight months, but my teammates and coaches have mirrored what my teammates and coaches at GW did."
JL – "Being at GW taught me how to interact with a lot of different people. I'm so thankful for meeting people who are a part of different religions, races, countries etc. Also, I'm grateful to my coaches for giving me the confidence to actually pursue this career. Most importantly, I'm so happy that I was a part of FCA. I have really leaned more into my faith since I've been overseas and the things we covered in huddles have been carried with me throughout my time."
WASHINGTON - GW volleyball has seen three of its own take their respective talents overseas recently following their time in the Buff & Blue. Kelsey Clark ('19), Skylar Iott ('20) and Jaimeson Lee ('20) have all signed professional contracts following successful careers in Foggy Bottom. Clark, Iott and Lee are the latest in a long history of GW graduates continuing their careers professionally overseas. Kristel Moor ('17) and Lauren Whyte ('13) most recently retired from their respective professional teams in 2019.
Clark burst onto the stage as the A-10 Co-Rookie of the Year in 2015 and earned team MVP honors in 2016 before graduating following the 2018 season. In her four years in Buff & Blue, the Chicago native accumulated 924 kills, 509 digs, 235 blocks and 1,116 points across 115 matches and 431 sets.
Iott, the team's 2019 MVP, finished her career with a flourish by earning Atlantic 10 Second Team All-Conference honors in her senior year. One of the greatest outside hitters in program history, Iott finished her career sixth in program history with 1,133 kills and fourth with 3,567 total attempts.
Lee, who earned the 2018 MVP honors, is one of the top setters in program history. She left GW following the 2019 season ranking fourth all-time in career assists with 3,276 after leading the A-10 with 894 assists as a senior. The Austin, Texas, native averaged over 7.4 assists per set during her career that covered 104 matches and 368 sets.
Below is a Q&A with the three, discussing their overseas experience and how GW prepared them for the international stage.
When did you decide you wanted to continue to play after graduation?
Kelsey Clark - "I made the decision around the middle of the pandemic. It seemed like the best time to disrupt my normal routine and go a completely different route."
Skylar Iott - "As my collegiate career was coming to a close and the real world was quickly approaching, I knew I wasn't ready to be done. In fact, the hope to play overseas helped me get through my senior year. Once I knew I was going to continue playing, watching that chapter of my life end wasn't so difficult."
Jaimeson Lee - "I decided I wanted to officially play pro when we were sent home in March (2020) due to the pandemic. That time was very stressful for everyone and having to make career decisions during it was not fun. I was deciding between going to graduate school and playing pro and came to my decision by realizing that I can always return home and go to grad school at any time, but I can't always go and try to play pro."
How did you find the team you are playing on? Did you use an agent?
KC (Playing for University of East London) - "There's a recruiting program for athletes to pursue a master's degree while continuing their respective sporting career in the UK. It's called Play Overseas, and they have been extremely helpful."
SI (Playing for Vitrolles Sport VB) - "I used an agent that my college coach set me up with."
JL (Playing for Las Changas de Naranjito & A.O. Lamias 2013) - "My agent was really helpful in finding options of teams for me to play on. He would tell me about the team and what they were offering and we came to the decision together."
What were you nervous about?
KC - "I would say the two main things I was nervous about were how COVID will affect our season and how I will adjust to graduate level classes. As of now, our season is still up in the air and changing each month. So it's really just a waiting game at this point. But in terms of my school work, graduate school allows a lot more time to focus on a finite amount of things, so it was easy to really create an effective routine."
SI - "I'm nervous about not knowing the language and not being able to connect with my teammates."
JL - "I'm always nervous about leaving home because I am very close with my family. But thankfully the time difference is only one hour so I have plenty of opportunities to FaceTime them."
What is something you noticed that's different playing internationally compared to playing in the US?
KC - "I've noticed language and terminology on the court is a lot different from the US. Also the FIVB rules are different from the NCAA, but I'm catching on pretty quickly. Once we start games it will be a bit more evident how the differences really play out during competition."
SI - "They cheer a lot more than I ever have! You can really see how passionate they are about playing."
JL - "I think in the U.S., players rely a lot on power. Players are a lot taller in the US than overseas. Most of the local players aren't as tall so they have to play savvier by tooling the block or placing shots."
What is something you're looking forward to doing while you're overseas?
KC - "Apart from competing again, I am looking forward to traveling to other places in Europe and surrounding countries. Exploring all of London too, of course!"
SI - "I'm excited to see how the style of play differs from the U.S. I'm also excited to taste the food in France (especially the cheese and wine)."
JL - "I am so excited to learn more about the culture here in Puerto Rico!"
How did GW prepare you for your experience playing internationally?
KC - "GW has helped me establish a vigorous work ethic both on the court and in the classroom that is just second nature at this point. So balancing training, school and any other volleyball obligations has been pretty seamless. Thanks to the coaching staff at GW, I already had a very wide perspective/knowledge about how volleyball is played internationally. Thus, it has been easy to apply the technical and practical skills I've grown here at GW and really see it come to fruition here in London."
SI – "Attending GW meant moving seven hours away from home, which was no easy task. My greatest takeaway from my experience at GW is that I had an amazing support system that became a home away from home. On my tough days, I always had people there for me. Moving to France at first felt like I was going to be lonely for six straight months, but my teammates and coaches have mirrored what my teammates and coaches at GW did."
JL – "Being at GW taught me how to interact with a lot of different people. I'm so thankful for meeting people who are a part of different religions, races, countries etc. Also, I'm grateful to my coaches for giving me the confidence to actually pursue this career. Most importantly, I'm so happy that I was a part of FCA. I have really leaned more into my faith since I've been overseas and the things we covered in huddles have been carried with me throughout my time."
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