Team player. Goofy. Energetic. Outgoing.
Those are the words teammates used to describe transfer student Bianca Rucker, outside hitter for the nine-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champions, Florida A&M University.
Rucker, from Marietta, Ga., has been adjusting to Florida A&M on and off the court as she has played in every game in this season for the Lady Rattlers and continues to improve.
“Socially I love it, the people are very friendly and even though it’s an HBCU it’s a whole lot of different cultures,” Rucker said. “The style of learning here compared to Kennesaw is different and the curriculum is the same but the classes here at more interactive so it makes it easier to learn.”
The transfer student said the campus has “more of a campus feel,” compared to her last school.
“FAMU is a lot more socially united, a lot more social spirit and heritage, lots of support behind athletics, way more than what it was at Kennesaw state, and the volleyball team is a lot more respected here than what it was at Kennesaw state,” the criminal justice student said.
Her teammates said she is a real team player and can always expect her to have fun.
“She is definitely gets along with everyone, she is a team player, and she always pushes and encourages us girls,” said teammate Kilani Davis.
Although volleyball is what her peers see Rucker play now, track used to be her main sport.
Rucker may be competitive on the court, but she knows how to keeps things light in practice.
“She always knows how to make practice fun,” teammate Jessica Bond said.
With practice comes improvement and Rucker said she is aware of the areas in her game that require improvement.
“The areas I need to improve on the most would be defense and ball control,” Rucker said.
She hopes to improve her game and help Florida A&M defend its MEAC title.