Captain of Pacific Union College’s men’s volleyball team, Justin Vital, received the 2023-2024 Defensive Player of the Year in the California Pacific Conference. This season, he was named First Team All-Conference, averaged 3.49 digs per set (#1 in conference), and totaled 181 digs in 15 season games. Vital was also Nationally Ranked #3 in digs per set in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). 

Growing up in Miami, Florida, Justin started playing volleyball during his freshman year of high school at Greater Miami Adventist Academy. He joined the Pioneers as the first recruit in the inaugural 2020 season, and now a senior finished his four years with the men’s volleyball team and will miss his friends, teammates, and coaching staff who have become his family.

What does this recognition mean to you?  

This recognition is an absolute honor. I receive this award with gratitude and see it as the fruits of the work, grit, and relentlessness I strived to exemplify throughout my college career. The standard of consistency and discipline I set for myself preparing for this season helped me reach this honor. Being recognized as the top libero and defensive player in CAL-PAC truly feels surreal.  

How has your team supported you after hearing about this recognition? 

My team was very supportive and proud of the achievement. I could not have done anything without their support, so it meant the world that they were as excited as I was to be named the DPOY.  

How would you describe yourself as a leader?  

I would describe myself as a servant leader and a leader who leads by example. As a servant leader, I found my role to empower those around me and help make each other better every single day. Whether on the court or off the court, I felt my responsibility was to better the individuals around me by being a servant to the team. 

I also would describe my leadership style as an individual who leads by example. I felt it was the leader’s responsibility to set the tone and expectations of the team’s culture and norms. Leading by example was the best way I felt I could do that.   

What do you hope your teammates learn from you?  

I hope my teammates learned my relentlessness and discipline to become better each and every day. I felt that the word “consistent” could sum up my entire college career and that no matter what was happening, I made it my goal to be consistent and reach the highest I could. I hoped to exemplify this attitude in each practice and game and hope to leave this mark as I leave PUC.  

What made you choose PUC over other colleges and universities?  

I chose PUC because of the values that the college upholds, as well as the academic programs and the ability for me to play volleyball at one of the highest levels. As an Adventist, it was important for me to join a college that represented the same values that I believed in. PUC exemplifying those beliefs and having a high academic and athletic standard helped me choose PUC over any other.  

What have you learned about yourself while being at PUC?  

I learned that I was stronger than I thought. Coming into PUC, I did not think I could amount to the level that the competition was competing at. I felt that I was behind and that success was out of reach. Throughout my time at PUC, I learned that, through discipline and consistency, I was stronger than I thought, and this attitude helped me achieve things that I could only dream about.