Growing up in Auburn, California, Central Connecticut senior Raquel Quirarte quickly showed prowess in volleyball.

Playing at Placer high school, she became the first female to be named league most valuable player twice, was named team MVP, two-time All-League selection and was named Best Senior Female Athlete. She also excelled in basketball, earning team and league MVP as well.

She’s continued to light things up at Central. In her rookie season, Quirarte led the team with 221 kills, which placed her seventh in the conference with 2.83 per game. She was named Northeast Conference rookie of the week Sept. 1.

As a freshman, Quirarte admitted that “it’s funny to think that as a freshman I didn’t have what I have now. I definitely had the same energy, but I never knew how to control my emotions. I would have coach catch me sometimes, she’d tell me ‘hey, don’t yell at the players.’ It was a big learning curve for me my freshmen year.”

Even now, Quirarte said that “sometimes I bring too much energy, I have to tone that down. It’s hard to bring everyone up,” remarked Quirarte, “sometimes everyone will look at me like ‘alright Raq, chill out a little bit.’ I have my moments where I get into my own head and my confidence can go down, that’s something I’m still working on.”

Quirarte thrives being the leader now for the Blue Devils. As for her teammates, Quirarte wants “them (her teammates) to look at me and be like ‘alright I’m fired up because of Raq.’ If the teams doing bad, I want to be the teammate that makes that good play that encourages my teammates. That’s what we all need to be thinking about and do.” Raquel has certainly made these plays for her team, as she’s currently third on the team in kills (71) digs (78) and first in blocks per set (seven).

Although she loves being the one to fire up the team, Quirarte relies on her teammates to do just the same. “If I have some bad swings I feel frantic,” Quirarte explained, “I want Madelyn or someone in the middle to take a couple swings and take the heat off, then when it comes to me, I think ‘if she can do it then so can I. It doesn’t have to just be me; we all have our moments where we stand up.”

Quirarte understands how difficult it can be to be a captain. “I’m constantly talking to them. As a captain, you need to know what your team wants from you. Some players can’t handle getting yelled at, one might. It’s all about knowing your teammates and trying to find that balance, which is never easy, but I like it.”

Although the season has not been going according to plan for the Blue Devils, Quirarte still remains hopeful about their season and their upcoming NEC play. “I’m hoping these losses will help us in NEC’s,” Quirarte admitted, “I’d rather have these losses be early on than the NEC. These are tough losses for sure, but as long as we can learn from them, then that’s all we can ask.”

As the Blue Devils continue the season, Quirarte will have to be the leader for her team. Currently sitting at 2-8, Central and Quirarte hope to improve on the season and will soon be starting their play in the NEC.