Idjilov Aims To Be The Bulls' Rainbow
The Bulls volleyball team and first-year head coach Jolene Shepardson wrap up their regular season with a pair of War on I-4 matchups vs. UCF in Orlando on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches can be watch on ESPN+.
By Joey Johnston, Special to USF Athletics
It's more than an inspirational saying that was accidentally discovered on a random web site. For USF junior volleyball setter Masha Idjilov, it has become a way of life, even a calling.
Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud.
Those words were coined by the late Maya Angelou, the American poet and civil rights activist. Idjilov (pronounced: Each-ah-love) takes them seriously and applies them to volleyball. She's a setter, the on-court leader and a player who sets up teammates for success.
"I feel like this is my personality,'' said Idjilov, who grew up in the Republic of Moldova, an Eastern European nation that has a smaller population than the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area. "This is what teammates need from me. I can impact them, encourage them, bring up the energy. When I do these things, it brings out the best volleyball player in me.
"I always think about giving, not getting. When I give encouragement, it gives me power.''
It's the same power witnessed by Bulls coach Jolene Shepardson about 16 months ago. Shepardson, then at San Jose State, was recruiting at the National Junior College Volleyball Championships in Hutchinson, Kansas. She didn't need a setter, but couldn't take her eyes off Idjilov, the do-everything leader of Panola College.
"Her voice and presence really caught my attention,'' Shepardson said. "She was that engaging. Positive, but very intense. It made a big impression on me.''
Some six weeks later, Shepardson was hired by USF, her alma mater, where she played on two NCAA Tournament teams. Suddenly, she was in the market for a setter and immediately thought about Idjilov. That first weekend, Idjilov was brought in for a visit and she committed.
Shepardson's first USF volleyball team had found its leader.
"Masha is very positive, very happy and always brings the energy,'' said USF freshman outside hitter Marta Cvitkovic, a native of Croatia. "She adjusts very well to everyone on the team. Her (sets) are always so accurate, just the way I like them.''
"She's the perfect balance of a competitor and an inspirer,'' Shepardson said. "She is supportive and direct. If there was a misconnect, she'll say, 'Hey, I'm going to set you again.' It's a natural skill that leaders in our sport can have. Her attitude is, 'I love you … and we're going to fight together.'
She's brand new to everyone, but the other players felt that attitude immediately.''
Idjilov grew up following her older sister, Paulina, who now plays professional volleyball in France. Idjilov dabbled in track and field, but found her love in volleyball, where she began as a hitter, then became a setter at age 17.
She grew up in Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova, but her aspirations were always to follow her dreams through volleyball. Idjilov said she is the first volleyball player from Moldova to play collegiately in America.
"I hope it will give others the idea that this can be achieved,'' said Idjilov, who is a voracious reader of leadership and self-development books, although she truly unwinds with romance novels. "All of the people leave eventually. We do not have a very rich country.
"Moldova is quite small. That is its strength, but also its weakness. I'm outgoing. I'm a big-city girl. I need things to do. Moldova was quite cozy. You know everyone around you. I grew up in villages with my grandparents. Those are experiences I won't forget. But I wanted to discover the world and I really love where I am at USF.''
Idjilov has struck up fast friendships with USF's other international players, including Cvitkovic (Croatia), freshman setter Eke Denessen (The Netherlands) and freshman outside hitter Agata Plaga (Poland). They live together at the same apartment complex and have meshed nicely with their American teammates.
"I think the best thing that happened was not being able to play our season in the fall (due to COVID-19),'' Cvitkovic said. "We got to know each other. We are a team now, all working as one.''
With Idjilov leading the way.
"I love having the mix of all these cultures,'' Shepardson said. "The international players love this opportunity to get better, earn a degree and perhaps play the sport on a professional level. We had some needs when we got here and we looked all over the world to fill them.''
Idjilov is majoring in Health Science, which she hopes to use to springboard into a career as a physical therapist.
"So I can help people and be there for others,'' Idjilov said. "That's really a metaphor for the way I play volleyball and what I want out of life. I wake up with a purpose of impacting someone's life. I want to make someone happier, put a little smile on their face.
"I think this is the way I play volleyball. I don't dwell on mistakes. The most important part to me is this is a game of passion. It's joyful and a game of team. There are opportunities to give and to work together. When you have people with the same purpose, the same goal, it's very powerful.''
Naturally, not all days are perfect. Some, in fact, are quite cloudy.
But with USF volleyball, there's always a rainbow nearby.
