Julia Norville has been a staple of the Cougar volleyball team since joining the team ahead of the 2019 season. Since Karly Basham transferred to the team, the duo has become a recognizable tandem in the back row for WSU.
Basham said that the team pushes each other to reach a new level of production, with specifically their position group really wanting the best for one another on and off the court.
“I’m pushed by players like [Julia], Emma and [Logan] every single day in practice and I think that shows up just in our defensive play this whole year,” Basham said.
Born in Sacramento, California, just like her teammate and fellow senior Peyton Claus, both of Norville’s parents played collegiate sports. Her father played baseball at California Lutheran University and her mother played soccer at California Lutheran University.
Julia’s father, Patrick, makes his presence known in the stands at home matches in Bohler Gym, being one of the most vocal supporters of the entire team and a major contributor to “The Block” on match days.
“Oh it’s really easy to see him,” Julia’s teammate Magda Jehlárová said with a laugh.
Before coming to the Palouse, Norville broke two school records at Capital Christian High School with career digs at 967 and career aces at 232. The team captain was a Sacramento Optimist All-Star and All-League selection in 2018, along with being named a team captain.
Arriving at WSU, she immediately made an impact. In year one, she saw action in 104 sets throughout 32 matches, getting her first career kill on a single attack, hitting a perfect 1.000% in year one. More importantly, she had her first 23 career service aces of many and dug out 206 attacks at a rate of 1.98 per set.
Discarding the shortened 2020 season, 2023 will be the fourth season that she has played in triple-digit sets. Up to 24 matches played in the current season after the teams Friday match against Stanford, Norville now stands alone with the fourth most career matches played at WSU with 135.
After appearing in all but two matches last season, she has yet to miss any match of the current season. On pace for the best season of her career, she is averaging 2.40 digs per set and is up to 22 aces on 0.26 aces per set. Earlier this season, she became the 14th member of the 1,000 career dig club at WSU, the second Coug to reach the mark of this season.
After 0 aces against Stanford, she is still at 123 on her career, which is good for a tie for seventh all-time, just two away from tying for sixth place and five away from climbing into the top four all-time.
Her best performance at the line was during the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Against Western Kentucky in the first round, she had a five-ace performance in the five-set bout, tying the program record for most in a five-set and tied for fourth-most in a match regardless of how long it went.
One way that 2023 has been even more special for the fifth year has been career-high dig performance against Oregon, as her 18 digs Oct. 1 were the most she has ever had. It was one of the 10 times she has had double-digit digs in the 2023 season, one of the most consistent years of her career.
Norville is one of the four seniors set to be recognized at the Nov. 10 match and has been an integral part of the Cougs’ continued success under head coach Jen Greeny.
