Kim finds comfort at IVC

Breaking up was hard to do for Annie Kim, but getting back together has been that much sweeter.

Kim and volleyball are together again, a harmonious reunion that is commencing at Irvine Valley College, where the Lasers are ranked No. 18 in the state and Kim is a big part of it. Her play in IVC's victory over No. 7-ranked Fullerton earlier in the week was pivotal at a pivotal point in the season.

A 5-foot-8 outside hitter, Kim had 15 kills, three blocks and two aces while hitting .320 in the match.

"Annie's one of the ones that plays with a lot of fire, a lot of emotion," IVC coach Tom Pestolesi said. "She's one we can feed off of. And she's really athletic, really explosive. She can do some pretty spectacular things."

Kim was a three-sport star at Gabrielino High in San Gabriel, playing volleyball, basketball and track, and earned a scholarship in volleyball to Cal State Los Angeles. But her collegiate career almost ended before it even got started.

Kim dislocated her left knee in a preseason practice during her freshman year in 2008 and had to redshirt. She played the next year at Cal State L.A., but then came to a crossroads in her life, and ultimately decided to leave Cal State L.A. and give up her scholarship so she could find herself as a person.

As it turned out, she discovered who she was, what she wanted and also found that volleyball should be a part of it.

"I gave it up because I was struggling," Kim, 21, said. "After the injury I struggled to get my confidence back as a player. I just wasn't my old self. I rehabbed for a year and it just never came back.

"All I did was play volleyball, I went to school and played volleyball. I needed to do something else, I just wasn't happy. It was the first time in my life I wasn't happy playing volleyball, and that said a lot."

Kim transferred to UC Irvine and discovered she had a passion for writing. She's majoring in literary journalism with a minor in education and hopes to become a high school English teacher.

"The reason I went to UCI was to find who I was outside of volleyball, because all I did in high school and growing up was play sports," Kim said. "I was always the kid with the ball and I wanted to go to UCI to find out what else was there besides sports."

Now, she's on track to graduate from UCI next June, and no, that isn't a typo.