Krista Hendrickson (née Vansant) sat on her couch with her husband, watching TV and relaxing at home on what seemed to be a typical Saturday night. That day quickly turned out to be anything but normal when she received a phone call from an unexpected number.
It was Jen Cohen, the former athletic director at her alma mater, Washington, calling to inform Hendrickson that she would be inducted into the University of Washington Husky Hall of Fame and one of eight members of the Class of 2023.
“It was very surreal. I didn’t feel like it was a real moment. You don’t get calls from big-time athletic directors out of the blue every day, so it was a very surreal moment,” Hendrickson said. “Knowing that I’m going to get recognition of this magnitude for something I enjoyed so much is super meaningful to me.”
Immediately calling her parents to share the news, Hendrickson became the fourth player in Washington volleyball program history to earn the honor after a legendary four-year career with the Huskies.
Hendrickson knew she was special long before her college days. After first getting into the sport at the age of 8, the Redlands, Calif., native earned her first Power-5 scholarship offers when she was in seventh grade. Admittedly overwhelmed with the national attention at such a young age, Hendrickson quickly realized she had what it takes to compete at the college level despite still being several years away from playing NCAA volleyball.
“I was like, ‘I don’t even know what I want to do with my life. I can barely get through my fourth-period math class, let alone worry about what I’m gonna do for college,'” Hendrickson said. “It was pretty crazy.”
Going on college visits as a freshman in high school, Hendrickson ultimately decided to stay on the West Coast and committed to Washington when she was 16, one year prior to being named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2010.
Once she arrived in Seattle as a freshman in 2011, Hendrickson made an immediate impact on the program. Starting all 32 matches and the lone Husky to play in all 108 sets during her freshman campaign, Hendrickson registered a team-high 398 kills and earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors, the second player in Washington history to earn that accolade.
Hendrickson continued that momentum heading into her sophomore season, garnering…
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