HIGH POINT, N.C. – A lifelong dream finally came true for graduate student Gia Padilla from the High Point University volleyball team. After five years of setbacks, hard work and dedication, Padilla finally earned what she had been working for her whole life, a conference championship with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The cherry on top was getting to do it alongside some of her best friends and in front of her biggest support system – her family.
 
"Going to the NCAA Tournament has been a goal and dream of mine since I was little," Padilla stated.
 
The road to a championship was not easy for her. She spent most of her freshman season of college going to physical therapy appointments after tearing her ACL while playing at Akron University. An uphill challenge like no other, she had to relearn how to walk, run and function physically while balancing schoolwork as a first-year college student.
 
Mentally, it was draining.
 
"I think the hardest part about that was the mental aspect of the game and a lot of people don't realize how much it plays a role into it," Padilla added.
 
She bounced back and saw the court for the first time on September 16, 2022, during her second year at Akron, but with a slow recovery process, she played in minimal minutes.
 
Following her second season with the Kangaroos, she felt that Akron was not the right fit for her anymore and entered the transfer portal. She landed a spot at Mercer University, where she spent two seasons as an outside hitter for the Bears.
 
During her senior season with the Bears, Mercer had one of its best seasons in program history, winning the Southern Conference regular-season title and earning the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Making it to the championship game, the Bears took a 2-0 set lead over Wofford which gave the team, including Padilla, a confident feeling that a trophy was in sight.
 
Things changed quickly, going from pure joy to tears of frustration and disbelief as the Bears were reverse swept by the Terriers, halting Padilla's chance of playing in the NCAA Tournament.
 
"It was definitely something that stayed with me for a couple months afterwards," Padilla commented. "It was very hard to deal with, especially since we all thought we had it in the bag. There were a lot of emotions, and I think we were all just very nervous being in a conference final. I definitely think that I grew a lot from it."
 
Padilla finished out her senior year at Mercer and graduated with an undergraduate degree. Her plans were to stay at Mercer after obtaining another year of eligibility from her ACL injury, but when her head coach left, she decided to enter the transfer portal and seek other options.
 
High Point reached out and Padilla remembered how beautiful the campus was when she played against the Panthers during the 2024 season. Feeling like the program was the right fit for her, she committed and joined the team for the 2025 season.
 
She joined a program that had built a winning culture under HPU Head Coach Ryan Meek, a dynasty that has become well-known in the Big South and the NCAA. This was something she wanted to help be a part of, but following the 2024 season the Panthers graduated most of its core, leaving a young freshman and sophomore squad to rebuild.
 
As a graduate student, Padilla was one of five upperclassmen on the team and although she was new to the program, she fit right in with her leadership. She provided experience and knowledge in all areas of the game and life that gave the underclassman a friend to lean on throughout the season.  
 
Doing what High Point does, the Panthers made their way to the top and won the Big South regular-season title, posting a 12-2 league record. High Point solidified a bye to the semifinals after earning the No. 2 seed and defeated Radford 3-0 in route to the championship game for the eighth time in program history.
 
On the other side of the bracket, UNC Asheville pulled the upset and took down No. 1 seed Winthrop in a five-set race.
 
In the Championship matchup between the Panthers and Bulldogs, High Point dominated in the first two sets, winning both by a 10-plus point margin. Padilla knew she did not want the same thing to happen last year and reminded the team to stay focused and not get relaxed after the first two sets.
 
"I fought to the very last point," Padilla said. "You can't celebrate early, and I feel like that's what I did last year."
 
The third set was a closer battle between the two teams than the first two. The Bulldogs made it a challenge for the Panthers and after HPU took a 24-23 lead at the end of the third, Addison Freeland – the Tournament MVP – sealed the victory with a tip that had a perfect placement right behind the right-side block.
 
"When Addi tipped that ball, it just didn't feel real," Padilla stated. "I'm like, 'There's no way we just won.' It just felt like any other game and I needed time for it to kick in. As soon as I saw my parents — they're my biggest supporters, my mom flew all the way from Puerto Rico — and my dad who was at the conference tournament last year who I cried to saying, 'It was all my fault, and I let the girls down'… seeing him get emotional just made it a surreal feeling. I'm just very excited that I got to do it with these girls."
 
Padilla and the Panthers will take on the University of Kansas on Thursday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. EST in the first round of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament. Padilla's family plans to be in attendance for the first and second rounds to support her.
 
"It means the world to me to have them there," Padilla exclaimed. "I know they are super excited to live that moment through me."
 
This will be the first matchup between the Panthers and Jayhawks. The winner will advance to the second round and play the winner of Miami versus Tulsa on Friday, December 5 at 7:00 p.m. EST. All matches will be streamed on ESPN+.