Grace Rohde didn’t always love volleyball. She only decided to try the sport because her best friend was going out and it would be a good opportunity to spend some time together.

Volleyball quickly turned out to be an excellent match. Today, Rohde is a standout member of the Viterbo women’s volleyball team. The nationally ranked V-Hawks just finished their regular season as conference co-champions and are busy preparing for the conference tournament as the number one seed and hopefully another appearance at the national championships.

“Grace is a tremendous worker, a perfectionist at times, and just an all-around great person,” said

V-Hawks women’s volleyball coach Ryan DeLong, who has known Rohde since she played with the V-Hawk Xtreme Volleyball Club. “I love just sitting down and chatting with Grace as there isn’t a conversation in which I don’t learn something from her.”

Rohde is studying engineering at Viterbo, a choice she is very happy with thus far.

“I have always enjoyed math and my father (who is an electrical engineer) encouraged me to consider engineering because it was something I would be good at and enjoy,” said Rohde, who is from Winona, Minn. “I have loved seeing how things work and engineering is used in so many fields. It has also been great working with my professors and classmates.”

Rohde chose to attend Viterbo because it offered both an excellent volleyball program and an academic major she was seeking. She has been particularly impressed with the communication skills emphasis of the engineering program. A sophomore, Rohde finished an internship with Inland in La Crosse from which she learned a great deal.

In her limited spare time, Rohde enjoys reading (her favorite pastime) and making cards and other crafts.

“I’d like to eventually work on large projects with other people, all of us maximizing our creativity by working together,” she said. “I’m most interested in computer science and software engineering and development.”