Name: Rianne Hulst
Born: 2 Nov, 2005
Sport: Volleyball
University: University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
Placed: Spring 2024

From injury to full scholarship in the U.S.
Rianne Hulst comes from a volleyball family and has always had a passion for the sport. At the age of 12 she already played for the first women’s team of ZVH Zevenhuizen and at 14 years she made the switch to the first division level. In 2024 she joined Sliedrecht Sport, one of the best volleyball teams in the Netherlands. In addition to indoor volleyball, Rianne also played active beach volleyball with BTN.

Her goals were always clear: to reach the highest level possible and become the best volleyball player she could be. But the path to college volleyball in the United States was anything but obvious.

The Pathway with Slamstox
When Rianne decided to combine her volleyball career with studying in the United States, Slamstox was ready to guide her. This process initially went very well: several schools offered her a full scholarship, and a coach from Old Dominion University (ODU) even came to the Netherlands to see her live in action and make her an offer in person. But just as the coach was about to travel to the Netherlands, the unexpected happened: Rianne tore her knee ligament, preventing the process with ODU from continuing.

This was a big disappointment to Rianne, but Slamstox remained by her side. Despite her injury, Slamstox continued to guide the process and, after several months of recovery, a coach from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) showed interest despite her injury. It immediately clicked between Rianne and the coach, and the trust was quickly mutual. After her recovery, Rianne was eventually offered a full scholarship to play for UIC, a D1 university.

The result
Rianne was offered a full scholarship at a top D1 university in the U.S.: the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Her transition to the American system took some getting used to at first, but soon she felt home. She is having a great time and her development as an athlete has received a major boost since she has been in the U.S.

What was Slamstox’s most valuable guidance?
“Slamstox’s knowledge and network really helped me get in touch with the right coaches, even at a time when everything seemed uncertain for a while. The official visit at UIC really made the difference,” Rianne says. Slamstox made sure that the process did not come to a end and gave Rianne the necessary tools to combine her recovery and the continuation of the process well.