Anna Bezhan began playing volleyball at the age of eight, but her roots in the sport go back much further.
Bezhan's mother, Inna Felkins, was a star athlete in the former Soviet Union. Originally a gymnast, Felkins outgrew the sport at a young age and switched to volleyball, where she was chosen to attend an elite high school sports academy to hone her skills. A professional career took off at the age of 18 as Felkins developed into a world-class setter. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she played professionally for six years in Ukraine and two years in Yugoslavia, narrowly missing a shot to compete for the Russian Olympic team due to strict minimum height requirements.
Bezhan came along in 1996, and she spent the first three years of her life living in a small apartment the Ukranian city of Kherson as her mom resumed her volleyball career.
In 2000, Bezhan, her mom, and her stepdad moved to Oklahoma to start a new life. Despite her young age, Bezhan recalled a stark contrast between life in Ukraine and the United States.
“I remember a lot of it actually because it was just so different,” Bezhan said. “It is hard to describe but in America, everything is much bigger and everyone has so much more. We lived out in the country and my stepdad had bought this huge house. Well, I thought it was huge because I had never really seen a house like that before. We had acres of land and horses all around us. I was so amazed.”
Bezhan, whose native language is Russian, learned English after moving to the United States. However, she still continued to speak Russian with her grandma, who came to live with the family for six years, and she still speaks fluent Russian to this day.
Bezhan says her introduction to volleyball came around the age of eight when her mom started a local program called the Green Country Volleyball Club.
“In the U.S., you don't really start volleyball until you are 11 or 12, so she started that club for younger age groups,” Bezhan said. “At first, it was just five of us girls. It was more like a big group lesson from my mom.
“At first I didn't like it, but I grew to like it more.”
It would be the first of many coaching sessions between mother and daughter. Felkins coached Bezhan on various club teams until she was 14, and then again for four years in high school as the head coach at Holland Hall in Tulsa, Okla.
What was it like having her mom be her coach for so many years?
“On one hand, it was tough, because she demands a lot,” Bezhan said. “But I am really happy that I got to learn from her, because she has such a distinguished background. She is so good, and she has a lot to teach.”
Bezhan says her mom not only taught her the physical skills needed to play, but the importance of the mental aspect of the game as well.
“My mom taught me to think strategically,” Bezhan said. “When I was younger, I didn't see that in other players, and it would frustrate me. Now at the higher levels, everyone thinks that way. She prepared me for that and gave me a lot of experience.”
Instead of becoming a setter, as both her mother and biological father were back in Europe, Bezhan has exceled as an outside hitter, earning all-metro, all-area and all-conference honors at Holland Hall. After an early commitment to the University of Tulsa fell through, she elected to attend Stetson University for the educational opportunities as well as the chance to play both indoor and beach volleyball.
Now 14 matches into her freshman season for the Hatters, Bezhan is getting valuable experience learning the collegiate game. Meanwhile, her mom has also had to make an adjustment, one from the role of coach to the role of supportive parent.
“Now, she is a lot more encouraging,” Bezhan said. “I play college now, so she can't really coach me. I think it is weird for her because all my life she has been my coach.”
"It has been quite an adjustment not to have her at home and in the gym," Felkins said. "All the staff and the players here at Holland Hall really miss her. She was a very good student and an outstanding athlete for our program."
Felkins did get to see her daughter play in person during the Hatters' recent trip to Mississippi State. Otherwise, she has been following along via the internet, catching a recent ESPN3 broadcast on her laptop during a recent bus trip with Holland Hall to Dallas.
The Hatters (5-9, 0-1 A-Sun) will be back on ESPN3 Friday night as the team travels to Nashville, Tenn. for an Atlantic Sun match-up against Lipscomb (8-6, 1-0). First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Stetson will also visit A-Sun newcomer NJIT at Noon on Sunday.
In addition to the live video streams of each match, live stats, the Stetson volleyball twitter feed, and the HatCheck text messaging system presented by OSIA will provide in-game updates all weekend long.
On the Road Again
In the first two months of the season, the Hatters have played 11 of their 14 matches on the road. Four of the next six matches including the two this weekend will be away games.
Conference Starts
Stetson has gotten off to a good start in conference play in each of the past two seasons. The Hatters went 5-1 in their first six A-Sun matches last year and 4-0 in their first four A-Sun matches in 2013.
Blocking Game
Madison Fitzsimmons leads the Atlantic Sun with 56 blocks on the season. She ranks second overall with an average of 1.08 blocks per set. As a team, the Hatters rank third in the A-Sun in total blocks (101) and forth in blocks-per-set (1.91).
Assists Record
Kayla Weller is now just 102 assists shy of breaking the all-time school record. She has 3,230 assists entering play this weekend. The all-time record is 3,332 assists, held by Tanya Roe (1993-96).
