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Hunkus keeps volleyball passion alive
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Hunkus
Former Girard High standout now plays on the AVP Tour
By TIM CLEVELAND
After a superb high school volleyball career at Girard and four more years at Duke, Tealle Hunkus has kept her passion for the sport going on the professional level, as a player on the Association of Volleyball Professionals Tour.
Hunkus, who will be 29 in January, now lives in El Segundo, Calif., for her job in the logistics industry and for her volleyball career.
“It’s right next to Manhattan; it’s the perfect spot for training,” she said. “The AVP’s had some financial problems, so this was the first season back.”
Hunkus made her AVP debut in 2007 and has since competed with a variety of partners in the two-on-two tournaments, most recently Christal Engle.
The duo began teaming in 2012 and earned a fifth-place finish in the event in Cincinnati.
“It’s been going really well,” Hunkus said of her partnership with Engle. “We had a really good season. We were third in Salt Lake City with a lot of fifth-place finishes. We’re hungry for more. Our chemistry on the court has been really good. I’m really looking forward to next season.”
Girard volleyball coach Phil Walters said Hunkus has always possessed the skills needed to be a top player at all levels of the game.
“I didn’t know it was something she was going to gravitate towards, but she’s done quite well,” he said. “She always had the frame but also has the mindset [to be a top player]. The cool thing is it’s taken her a few years but she’s partnered with a nice player. She’s very dedicated. It’s really neat to see her rub elbows with the game’s elite.”
Hunkus set school records with 1,169 career kills and 470 in a season. She earned a pair of all-state honors with the Indians.
She helped lead Girard to the state semifinals as a senior, but her high school career ended at that stage with a loss to Sidney Lehman.
“We went to state and played in Barberton,” she said. “It was one of the most exhausted I’ve ever been after a match. It was a very cool atmosphere.”
Walters said Hunkus is among the best volleyball players in school history.
“She was easily one of the best players who ever played for me,” he said. “She set records that still stand today. She’s the only player in Girard history with over 1,000 kills. She was captain or two years. She also has the highest serving percentage in history. She was the only first-team all-state selection — in her junior and senior years — for Girard.”
After graduating in 2003, the heavily-recruited Hunkus chose Duke to play her collegiate volleyball.
As a freshman, the Blue Devils finished just 10-19, but Hunkus helped lead a turnaround. Duke went 73-22 in the next three seasons, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title in Hunkus’ senior season and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament her final two years.
“It was quite a transition,” she said. “Our coach [Jolene Nagel] went through a lot of changes as did the team. We were able to communicate better. It reflected in our record. It was challenging to start my freshman year. As the coach and staff grew and made changes it was awesome.”
Hunkus, who majored in public policy, said her Duke education has benefited her to this day.
“It was probably the most fun four years of my life,” she said. “As far as education, Duke is second to none. Even now and then I think Duke has shaped how I approach certain situations. It’s cool how it transitions to life, still.
Hunkus ranks ninth all-time in attacks for Duke with 3,353 and 10th in aces with 118. She was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American, second team All-ACC and to the ACC All-Academic team in 2006.
Hunkus started on her path to the AVP and California in the Midwest.
“When I was at Duke in my junior year I did an internship in Chicago for the Red Cross,” she said. “I worked 9 to 5 and joined random leagues. I met a bunch of people and played 12 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday. I knew I wanted to be on the beach. It was one of the most fun summers of my life.”