WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- Julia Brown rewrote the record books during her time in Williamsburg, leaving the program ranking second in school history with 366 total blocks and second with .920 blocks per set.
 
 On the attacking side of the net, Brown's 934 kills are the fourth most in school history, and her career hitting percentage of .283 is second among all players in the current scoring format and sixth in program history. 
 
However, Brown recently did something that no member of the Green and Gold had done before. Sign a professional contract to play volleyball overseas. 
 
Brown has signed on to play with CV Sayre Mayser based out of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. The team plays in the Spanish Superliga, the top volleyball league in Spain. League is composed of teams throughout mainland Spain as well as the surrounding islands. 
 
The middle blocker will leave for CV Sayre Mayser's training camp August 22 and play the entire six month season, slated to end March 21. 
 
Volleyball and Spain- a dream come true for the Illinois native. The middle blocker also had offers from teams in Germany, Finland, and the Czech Republic.
 
 "I signed on with my agent in January and told him Spain had been a dream of mine", said Brown. "I was leaning towards playing in Germany, but as soon as I got the text saying there was a team in Spain I knew that was my decision."
 
Support came from Tribe assistant coach Janelle Barrineau who played professionally in Azerbaijan and Belgium and head coach Tim Doyle.
 
"Janelle was really helpful, she recommended a few different agents and then we put together my CV which has two full games on film, and Tim stitched together some highlights too along with stats and measurables."
 
Brown's motivation for playing professionally was two-fold. "When I first started asking around about playing professionally, I had so much collegiate volleyball ahead of me, and being able to travel was my biggest motivator. I have always wanted to study abroad, but it is difficult as a student-athlete. But when I was reaching the end of my William & Mary career, I knew I was not ready to give up volleyball.
 
After graduating last May with degrees in biology and management and organizational leadership, Brown began her MBA program this August. By taking on a heavy class load this spring and summer classes, she will graduate on time next May after returning from Spain.
 
While Brown knew her time in the William & Mary Business School would pay dividends down the road, she did not anticipate being able to brush up on her Spanish as one of those positives. Julia studied Spanish in high school, but after five years without studying the language it was helpful to have friends who were fluent. 
 
"I have only been able to speak with the team captain, which was really helpful, but she didn't speak any English.I have a few friends from the MBA program from Spain. One from Madrid and one from Pamplona. They edit the grammar in my texts and help me communicate with the team."
 
Brown is one of six players currently on the Sayre Mayser roster as professional volleyball has tremendous turnover. The club is rounding out a roster, but is currently made up of Julia, a Portuguese national, and four women from Spain. 
 
Building comradery with her new squad will be easy as her teammates will also be roommates. The team provides housing for all players which is a convenient five minute walk to the training facility.
 
During her final two seasons, Julia was named First-Team All-CAA, the first member of the Tribe to earn First-Team honors since Kristin Schimke in the 1992-93 seasons. Brown was also named to the CAA All-Rookie team as a freshman following the 2017 season.
 
 This past season, Brown was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, celebrating athletes that succeed in the classroom, the community, and on the playing field. 
 
Doyle understands what having a professional player can mean to the William & Mary volleyball brand. "It means everything to have a William & Mary athlete play professional volleyball", said Doyle. 
 
"W&M is the type of institution 'where the best come to get better'- student athletes here can receive a prestigious degree but also be challenged as volleyball players. Julia inking a professional contract conveys all that's meant behind the best coming to get better."
 
As for Brown, she hopes she is the first of many William & Mary players to make the leap from Williamsburg to a professional contract in Europe. 
 
"I think it's exciting that the players I played with, and even those coming into the program now will see someone from William & Mary doing this and identify it as an option early. I know it is a lot of people's dream to go abroad. I hope this shows players the opportunity is out there and encourages them to do it."