Sometimes a person makes choices about the path her life will take, and sometimes the path leads to a very different place than expected. One of the best examples relating to this with Minnesota volleyball is the story of three-time All-American libero Paula Gentil. Gentil had played volleyball since the age of five in her home country of Brazil. However in 1998, she decided to take a break from the sport as she started high school. Gentil cited a burnout from long practice hours that had her practicing six to seven hours every day and not returning to her home until 9 p.m. every night.

“I stopped playing volleyball in 1998, because it was not fun anymore at that point,” said Gentil. “My heart was not into it and when that happens it is tough to play with the passion that makes you a good player. I decided to stop in 1998 and 1999 and focus on school.” In January of 2000, Gentil moved to Florida with her father where she attended Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Fla. Gentil chose to move to the United States to learn English, since she was the only one in her family who did not know the language at the time. The move ended up rekindling her love for volleyball.

After moving to Orlando, Gentil started to get a little bored and wanted to find something to fill her time. She ended up turning back to volleyball when she joined the Orlando Volleyball Academy Club.

“When I joined the Orlando Volleyball Academy Club, volleyball became fun again,” said Gentil. “I met a lot of great people, we traveled to play a lot of different teams and the style of volleyball was completely different from Brazil. It was like a whole new experience that was very refreshing to me.”

Gentil had originally planned to return to Brazil after high school, and told her club coach as much. However, her club coach continued to keep the lines of communication open with colleges that had planned to recruit Gentil.

Minnesota entered the picture at a club tournament at which former Golden Gopher assistant Brian Heffernan was scouting another player. As Heffernan was walking across the many courts at the club tournament, Gentil’s play caught his eye. Heffernan called Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert to tell him about Gentil. The rest is history.

“I was at a club tournament and one of our club assistant coaches came up to me and told me there was a coach from Minnesota who wanted my email address,” said Gentil. “Being from Brazil, I did not even realize where Minnesota was at the time. They got my information and sent stuff out to me and everything kind of took off from there.”

“I saw Paula at two separate tournaments, including the National Club Championships,” said Hebert. “When I saw her play, it immediately confirmed what Brian (Heffernan) had seen in her. She was a special player with great instincts. All the things she has become in her college career, we saw in her when we recruited her.”

The set of circumstances that made the fit to Minnesota even better was the impending addition of the libero position to college volleyball in 2002. Although it had not been confirmed at the time, Hebert had a good idea that the rule would be in place and that Gentil would be a perfect fit.

Gentil, who had played outside hitter in high school, relished the idea of playing libero because she enjoyed the defensive aspects of volleyball more then anything else.

“Even when I played outside hitter in high school I was still always drawn more to defense then anything else,” said Gentil. “This is what made the opportunity to go play libero at Minnesota even more appealing.”

The other thing that drew Gentil to Minnesota was the freedom that Hebert gave her defensively.

“The great part of coming to Minnesota was that they gave me a lot of freedom to do what I wanted on defense,” said Gentil. “That aspect was different from the other schools the recruited me. The freedom that Minnesota has given me helped me succeed and it has been a fun system to play within.”

“We had a choice to make, and that was, do we force Paula to adjust to a defensive system or to we allow her to roam free and teach everyone else to play around her,” said Hebert. “For right or wrong, I decided we would let her play her instinctive reading of the ball and we would let the other players adjust to the open areas around her. That is how we have played the last three years.”

Gentil has flourished in the system breaking school, conference and NCAA records in digs. In her freshman season, Gentil broke the 13-year old Minnesota single-season dig record with 574, and was named a Third-Team All-American. The next year she broke the Big Ten’s single-season record with 656 digs and was named a Second-Team All-American. Last year, Gentil broke the NCAA single-season record with 924 digs and was the first libero to be named a First-Team All-American.

“I always say that I got here just in time for everything to come into place,” said Gentil. “There were a lot of other players and coaches before me in this program that laid the groundwork for the success of this program. I got here and have been lucky to be a part of a Big Ten Championship, two Final Four appearances and a National Championship appearance.”

Gentil reflects on the growth she has had as a player both on the court and off the courts since her arrival at Minnesota.

“As a freshman, I did not know what to expect. I knew it would be fun, because I would get to play just defense. I knew that as a freshman, I would have to work hard and go out and prove myself as a starter. That season was great, because the team was close and it felt like a family. It made me feel like I was home even though I was not. One of the things I have enjoyed at Minnesota is that as each year has gone along, I have been given more opportunities to help the team. The coaches are always asking you to do more, and that is something that I enjoy.”

One of the things that Gentil takes the most pride in at her time at Minnesota is the recognition that the program has received for excelling defensively.

“More then being remembered individually as a player, I want to be known as someone who, along with Lisa Reinhart and Malama Peniata, raised the level of the program defensively,” said Gentil. I like being known as one of the players who helped start the defensive commitment that our program now has. I want people to come here after me and continue it. It is great to get All-American honors and break records, but without my teammates it would not be possible. That is why the most enjoyable part of those accomplishments is sharing it with my teammates.”

Hebert acknowledges that the defensive prowess that Lisa Reinhart, Paula Gentil and Marci Peniata have exhibited has made Minnesota a place where good defensive recruits aspire to play.

“We have number of inquiries from defensive specialists and players who want to be liberos all as a result of our defensive reputation,” said Hebert. “I think Paula, Lisa (Reinhart) and Malama (Peniata) all played a big part in that.”

As it turns out, Gentil’s unlikely journey to Minnesota could result in other top players making their way into the Gopher program. For now, Gentil just wants to have a strong senior season and enjoy the end of her journey at the University of Minnesota. Sometimes a person makes choices about the path her life will take, and sometimes the path leads to a very different place than expected. One of the best examples relating to this with Minnesota volleyball is the story of three-time All-American libero Paula Gentil. Gentil had played volleyball since the age of five in her home country of Brazil. However in 1998, she decided to take a break from the sport as she started high school. Gentil cited a burnout from long practice hours that had her practicing six to seven hours every day and not returning to her home until 9 p.m. every night.

“I stopped playing volleyball in 1998, because it was not fun anymore at that point,” said Gentil. “My heart was not into it and when that happens it is tough to play with the passion that makes you a good player. I decided to stop in 1998 and 1999 and focus on school.” In January of 2000, Gentil moved to Florida with her father where she attended Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Fla. Gentil chose to move to the United States to learn English, since she was the only one in her family who did not know the language at the time. The move ended up rekindling her love for volleyball.

After moving to Orlando, Gentil started to get a little bored and wanted to find something to fill her time. She ended up turning back to volleyball when she joined the Orlando Volleyball Academy Club.

“When I joined the Orlando Volleyball Academy Club, volleyball became fun again,” said Gentil. “I met a lot of great people, we traveled to play a lot of different teams and the style of volleyball was completely different from Brazil. It was like a whole new experience that was very refreshing to me.”

Gentil had originally planned to return to Brazil after high school, and told her club coach as much. However, her club coach continued to keep the lines of communication open with colleges that had planned to recruit Gentil.

Minnesota entered the picture at a club tournament at which former Golden Gopher assistant Brian Heffernan was scouting another player. As Heffernan was walking across the many courts at the club tournament, Gentil’s play caught his eye. Heffernan called Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert to tell him about Gentil. The rest is history.

“I was at a club tournament and one of our club assistant coaches came up to me and told me there was a coach from Minnesota who wanted my email address,” said Gentil. “Being from Brazil, I did not even realize where Minnesota was at the time. They got my information and sent stuff out to me and everything kind of took off from there.”

“I saw Paula at two separate tournaments, including the National Club Championships,” said Hebert. “When I saw her play, it immediately confirmed what Brian (Heffernan) had seen in her. She was a special player with great instincts. All the things she has become in her college career, we saw in her when we recruited her.”

The set of circumstances that made the fit to Minnesota even better was the impending addition of the libero position to college volleyball in 2002. Although it had not been confirmed at the time, Hebert had a good idea that the rule would be in place and that Gentil would be a perfect fit.

Gentil, who had played outside hitter in high school, relished the idea of playing libero because she enjoyed the defensive aspects of volleyball more then anything else.

“Even when I played outside hitter in high school I was still always drawn more to defense then anything else,” said Gentil. “This is what made the opportunity to go play libero at Minnesota even more appealing.”

The other thing that drew Gentil to Minnesota was the freedom that Hebert gave her defensively.

“The great part of coming to Minnesota was that they gave me a lot of freedom to do what I wanted on defense,” said Gentil. “That aspect was different from the other schools the recruited me. The freedom that Minnesota has given me helped me succeed and it has been a fun system to play within.”

“We had a choice to make, and that was, do we force Paula to adjust to a defensive system or to we allow her to roam free and teach everyone else to play around her,” said Hebert. “For right or wrong, I decided we would let her play her instinctive reading of the ball and we would let the other players adjust to the open areas around her. That is how we have played the last three years.”

Gentil has flourished in the system breaking school, conference and NCAA records in digs. In her freshman season, Gentil broke the 13-year old Minnesota single-season dig record with 574, and was named a Third-Team All-American. The next year she broke the Big Ten’s single-season record with 656 digs and was named a Second-Team All-American. Last year, Gentil broke the NCAA single-season record with 924 digs and was the first libero to be named a First-Team All-American.

“I always say that I got here just in time for everything to come into place,” said Gentil. “There were a lot of other players and coaches before me in this program that laid the groundwork for the success of this program. I got here and have been lucky to be a part of a Big Ten Championship, two Final Four appearances and a National Championship appearance.”

Gentil reflects on the growth she has had as a player both on the court and off the courts since her arrival at Minnesota.

“As a freshman, I did not know what to expect. I knew it would be fun, because I would get to play just defense. I knew that as a freshman, I would have to work hard and go out and prove myself as a starter. That season was great, because the team was close and it felt like a family. It made me feel like I was home even though I was not. One of the things I have enjoyed at Minnesota is that as each year has gone along, I have been given more opportunities to help the team. The coaches are always asking you to do more, and that is something that I enjoy.”

One of the things that Gentil takes the most pride in at her time at Minnesota is the recognition that the program has received for excelling defensively.

“More then being remembered individually as a player, I want to be known as someone who, along with Lisa Reinhart and Malama Peniata, raised the level of the program defensively,” said Gentil. I like being known as one of the players who helped start the defensive commitment that our program now has. I want people to come here after me and continue it. It is great to get All-American honors and break records, but without my teammates it would not be possible. That is why the most enjoyable part of those accomplishments is sharing it with my teammates.”

Hebert acknowledges that the defensive prowess that Lisa Reinhart, Paula Gentil and Marci Peniata have exhibited has made Minnesota a place where good defensive recruits aspire to play.

“We have number of inquiries from defensive specialists and players who want to be liberos all as a result of our defensive reputation,” said Hebert. “I think Paula, Lisa (Reinhart) and Malama (Peniata) all played a big part in that.”

As it turns out, Gentil’s unlikely journey to Minnesota could result in other top players making their way into the Gopher program. For now, Gentil just wants to have a strong senior season and enjoy the end of her journey at the University of Minnesota.