Colorado University Athletics
Kuehl & Burilovic pose together with their respective flags.
Kuehl and Burilovic Carry National Team Experience Into Buffs’ Season
October 04, 2023 | Volleyball
BOULDER - Two players from the University of Colorado women's volleyball team starred on international squads over the summer. Middle blocker Alexia Kuehl played for the U23 German national team while Ana Burilović played for the U19 Croatian National team.
Burilović, an outside hitter who was born and raised in Split, Croatia, has played on the National team for the last six years.
"It was an amazing experience," Burilović said. "I love playing with my teammates. We've known each other since forever. We really showed everyone we can do great things. Unfortunately, we did not get the medal, but we have to work hard, and I'm hoping next year we can get the trophy."
Croatia hosted the U19 World Championships which provided Burilović with the luxury of playing close to home, but she said she felt bittersweet about the convenience.
"I was kind of sad because I thought we were going to travel," Burilović said. "But the World Championship being in Croatia turned out to be superb. It was great because we had a home audience, and our parents and friends were there cheering us on."
The U19 Croatian National team finished tied for fifth with a five set loss to Italy in the quarterfinals.
Kuehl, a Florida native, had the complete opposite experience from Burilović when she qualified for the U23 German National team. Kuehl possesses dual-citizenship because her father was born in Germany, but she'd never spent a significant amount of time in the country and does not speak German. On top of the language divide, her team competed in Chengdu, China for the World University Games instead of remaining in Germany for the tournament.
"My coach coached in German, but all of the girls on the team spoke to me in English and were able to help me through things that I didn't understand. They helped me learn the language a little bit, but I still have a long way to go with that," Kuehl laughed.
Kuehl remained in Europe after Colorado's foreign volleyball trip, and had try outs with the German National team for two weeks before the squad was finalized. The team trained for another two weeks before heading to China for 10 days of competition.
"The games in general were really cool because they had a 'mini-Olympic' type vibe," Kuehl said. "We stayed in the athletic village, and we were around so many athletes from so many different countries. We had an insane opening ceremony that showed a lot of the culture in China, and the President of China was there."
The middle blocker commented that she tried to soak in as many cultures as possible in the relatively short time that she was in China.
"Music was a huge thing. In general, people around the village were playing their music on speakers. I 'Shazamed' a lot of songs to add them to my Spotify playlists, so that was a super fun experience," Kuehl said.
In addition to all the cultural differences, Kuehl said that the international style of play also took some getting used to. International volleyball rules only allow six substitutions per set while the American rules allow 15. The international game also doesn't allow liberos to serve while the United States does. As a result, both differences have a huge impact on a middle blocker because they're required to serve and play in the back row for at least half of a rotation.
"In Germany, the style of play is definitely very different over there. It's kind of the opposite, but in a good way that made me learn a lot more about volleyball," Kuehl said. "In the US, middles don't ball-handle very much, but I got to ball-handle a lot, so that was fun. I also learned a whole new way to play systems, so that was definitely a change up from what I'm used to. I think it was good though because if I want to continue a pro career after college, it kind of gave me an insight to what that would be like."
Since Kuehl and Burilović have arrived in the United States and started their season with Colorado, both have been supplying significant numbers for the Buffs.
Burilović has primarily been playing in the back row for Lexi Hadrych as a defensive specialist and has already recorded 22 digs in 25 sets played. However, the 6-1 outside has provided more than key defense and has also been an offensive weapon from the back row. Burilovic has already earned 22 kills and six service aces.
Kuehl has continued her trend of being a defensive force at the net. She's earned 18 total blocks this season bringing her career total to 267. She's also recorded 44 kills so far this year
Kuehl and Burilović will continue to be instrumental in the Buffs' success this Friday against No. 5 Oregon and this Sunday versus Oregon State University.
Burilović, an outside hitter who was born and raised in Split, Croatia, has played on the National team for the last six years.
"It was an amazing experience," Burilović said. "I love playing with my teammates. We've known each other since forever. We really showed everyone we can do great things. Unfortunately, we did not get the medal, but we have to work hard, and I'm hoping next year we can get the trophy."
Croatia hosted the U19 World Championships which provided Burilović with the luxury of playing close to home, but she said she felt bittersweet about the convenience.
"I was kind of sad because I thought we were going to travel," Burilović said. "But the World Championship being in Croatia turned out to be superb. It was great because we had a home audience, and our parents and friends were there cheering us on."
The U19 Croatian National team finished tied for fifth with a five set loss to Italy in the quarterfinals.
Croatia defeated Poland in 5 sets in the round of 16 playoffs ?? They face Italy on August 9th at 10 AM MT in the Quarterfinals?? pic.twitter.com/aOgjMcfSbi
— Colorado Buffaloes Volleyball (@CUBuffsVB) August 8, 2023
Kuehl, a Florida native, had the complete opposite experience from Burilović when she qualified for the U23 German National team. Kuehl possesses dual-citizenship because her father was born in Germany, but she'd never spent a significant amount of time in the country and does not speak German. On top of the language divide, her team competed in Chengdu, China for the World University Games instead of remaining in Germany for the tournament.
"My coach coached in German, but all of the girls on the team spoke to me in English and were able to help me through things that I didn't understand. They helped me learn the language a little bit, but I still have a long way to go with that," Kuehl laughed.
Kuehl remained in Europe after Colorado's foreign volleyball trip, and had try outs with the German National team for two weeks before the squad was finalized. The team trained for another two weeks before heading to China for 10 days of competition.
"The games in general were really cool because they had a 'mini-Olympic' type vibe," Kuehl said. "We stayed in the athletic village, and we were around so many athletes from so many different countries. We had an insane opening ceremony that showed a lot of the culture in China, and the President of China was there."
The middle blocker commented that she tried to soak in as many cultures as possible in the relatively short time that she was in China.
"Music was a huge thing. In general, people around the village were playing their music on speakers. I 'Shazamed' a lot of songs to add them to my Spotify playlists, so that was a super fun experience," Kuehl said.
In addition to all the cultural differences, Kuehl said that the international style of play also took some getting used to. International volleyball rules only allow six substitutions per set while the American rules allow 15. The international game also doesn't allow liberos to serve while the United States does. As a result, both differences have a huge impact on a middle blocker because they're required to serve and play in the back row for at least half of a rotation.
"In Germany, the style of play is definitely very different over there. It's kind of the opposite, but in a good way that made me learn a lot more about volleyball," Kuehl said. "In the US, middles don't ball-handle very much, but I got to ball-handle a lot, so that was fun. I also learned a whole new way to play systems, so that was definitely a change up from what I'm used to. I think it was good though because if I want to continue a pro career after college, it kind of gave me an insight to what that would be like."
Since Kuehl and Burilović have arrived in the United States and started their season with Colorado, both have been supplying significant numbers for the Buffs.
Burilović has primarily been playing in the back row for Lexi Hadrych as a defensive specialist and has already recorded 22 digs in 25 sets played. However, the 6-1 outside has provided more than key defense and has also been an offensive weapon from the back row. Burilovic has already earned 22 kills and six service aces.
Kuehl has continued her trend of being a defensive force at the net. She's earned 18 total blocks this season bringing her career total to 267. She's also recorded 44 kills so far this year
Kuehl and Burilović will continue to be instrumental in the Buffs' success this Friday against No. 5 Oregon and this Sunday versus Oregon State University.
Players Mentioned
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