Nicole Edelman Fulfills Dream of Playing in US

BOULDER - Nicole Edelman has played volleyball professionally all over the world. However, this season she's had the opportunity to realize her dream of playing close to home with Athletes Unlimited's third volleyball season.

Edelman, a 2015 Colorado graduate, was a phenomenal setter during her four years with the Buffs. She completed her college career with 4,278 assists and ranks fourth for career assists at CU.

Since graduating, Edelman has played in Switzerland, Spain, Poland, and spent three seasons playing in France.

"It was awesome," Edelman stated. "I got to travel the world and get to know different styles of volleyball while seeing how different parts of the world train and how they think strategically."

Despite Edelman's love of travel and having new experiences, she decided to take some time off after her international season concluded in 2022. At the time, she wasn't sure what the future held for her playing career.

"I have some USA teammates who play in AU's league, so I kept in contact with them, especially in season two. But I'd already signed a professional contract, so things weren't aligned at that moment for me to do," Edelman said. "As an American though, I was invested in the league and wanted it to succeed."

She kept in contact with her former USA teammates, and those teammates reached out early this year to see if Edelman would be interested in playing in AU's third season. Edelman decided she wasn't in a position where she wanted to sign another international contract, so she jumped at the opportunity to play in the United States.

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"It means everything to be able to play in the US," Edelman said. "It was something that was a dream even four or five years ago. It's great to be able to play in a league where your family can easily watch you on TV and there's not an eight hour time difference."

Edelman said that she also loves seeing how much volleyball is growing in America.

"It means everything because you can see how much the sport is growing and how much that we can give back to our own communities. It's amazing to be able to talk to middle school and high school athletes and show them that there's pro volleyball in the US now and they don't have to go really far away from home where there's not as much visibility," she stated.

Edelman said that she also appreciates Athletes Unlimited's dedication to viewing athletes as more than just athletes and investing in causes that the athletes care about. Each season at AU, individual athletes select a charity they're passionate about. The league then matches each athlete's bonus with a donation to their selected charity.

Since Edelman is passionate about spreading volleyball and encouraging women in sports, she selected the Women's Sports Foundation.

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"It comes back to empowering women and letting the next generation of these young girls have a bigger and better platform," Edelman commented. "I'm really happy to be able to work with them and grow women's sports and grow the game. I'm grateful that [Athletes Unlimited] lets us do that as well because that's unheard of."

Another unheard of thing for most professional athletes is having a full-time job. Before Edelman signed on to play with AU, she got a job in tech as a sales associate. The role has been understanding and flexible while Edelman has pursued her passion of continuing to play volleyball at the highest level. On the flip side, AU has also held professional development events for the athletes.

"It just goes back to the fact that they look at us as more than just athletes," Edelman said. "They really do want us to excel - whether it's in the business world or as an athlete."

Athletes Unlimited is about to enter the fourth week of their season on Oct. 27th. Edelman will be playing for Team Hilley this week with her first match airing on the 27th at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

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