« Volleyball 2020-21

Stef Jankiewicz

School
Illinois State University
Position
Setter
Major
Criminal Justice
Stef Jankiewicz

Classroom

Jankiewicz has been aptly recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference for her success in the classroom. In 2019, she was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete first team, while also earning the Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award and a spot on the MVC Honor Roll. She was featured in the Valley’s Scholar-Athlete Spotlight and has also made ISU’s AFNI Honor Roll in all possible semesters.

Jankiewicz graduated with her bachelor’s degree as a criminal justice major in December of 2020 and will continue her education at ISU this spring. She is taking graduate-level courses to help prepare her for graduate school next fall.

Character

Jankiewicz has always had a team-first mentality. Through uncertainties brought by COVID-19, she has persevered and acted as a natural leader. She has served as a team captain for the last two seasons and has impressed her coaches with here ability to communicate with respect and transparency.

Leah Johnson, the ISU head coach, expressed that she can coach Jankiewicz hard when she wants to make a point to the team since she won’t stop giving back. She has excellent self-awareness and displays it daily.

Community

Jankiewicz was recognized as one of ten student-athletes to receive the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Good Neighbor award in 2019. In order to be a recipient, one has to be in good academic standing, demonstrate citizenship through good sportsmanship, and have significant community service.

Her most notable work in the community comes from serving as a mentor at the Oakdale Elementary School. She spent most of her time with one young student, but would also fill in as class supervisor when extra assistance was needed. Jankiewicz’s main responsibilities when mentoring her student were to help defuse situations with high emotions, encourage them to have/feel their feelings, but to also remain respectful to authority and their teacher.

She would visit during lunch, recess, but mostly in the classroom and when the student had to go out into the hallway to finish their work. She has said that she felt like her work was extremely impactful, especially at the end of the year when the student chose to write her End of the Year Journal about Jankiewicz and the calming presence she provided the student in their life. The student was even able to come to a game and watch Jankiewicz play in the past.

Competition

Jankiewicz is a two-time AVCA All-North Region honorable mention selection and a three-time All-MVC performer. In 2019, Jankiewicz was named the MVC Championship’s Most Valuable Player, helping the Redbirds secure the Valley’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

In 2018, Jankiewicz earned the MVC Setter of the Year, one year after earning MVC Freshman of the Year in 2017.

Heading into her senior season, Jankiewicz ranks fifth overall in program history with 4,079 career assists, after becoming the second-fastest setter in program history to reach the top 10 in 2018. She’s turned in 47 double-doubles in her career and has finished in the top 25 in all of NCAA Division I women’s volleyball in total assists and assists per set in back-to-back seasons.