Penn State is heading to the 2024 NCAA Championship finals for the first time in 10 years. Two of the key players who helped the Nittany Lions reach this milestone are Anjelina and Isabella ‘Izzy’ Starck. Outside hitter and elder sister Anjelina Starck and setter Izzy are among the rare sister duos playing on the same team. However, they aren’t the first ones in their family to play volleyball. That honor belongs to their parents Doug Starck and Errica Hibben Starck.

While Doug Strack played volleyball for Ball State, their mother played for one of the top universities in women’s volleyball, The University of Texas at Austin. In her four years at the university, Hibben established herself as the best middle blocker in Texas Longhorn history. In fact, even three decades after her retirement, the mother of the Penn States holds not one but two school records.

Errica Hibben’s record-breaking career at the Texas

Errica Hibben started playing for the Texas Longhorns in 1989 and crossed triple-digit assists in her very first year. The middle blocker achieved 53 solo blocks and 133 block assists. The 6’1 middle blocker continued to improve in the following years. She racked up the blocks and assists and even played for the South team in the 1990 U.S. Olympic Festival.

However, the 6’1 volleyball star truly came into her own as a senior. In 1992, the Penn State stars’ mother earned All-American honors and made the Southwest Conference First Team. She also became Team MVP, posting massive numbers with 329 kills, 177 blocks, and 280 digs while hitting 289. In her final year at UT, the middle blocker had established herself as the most prolific in the school’s history.

Errica Hibben ended her college volleyball career with 531 career blocks and 414 assists, both of which were school records. While Hibben never won a national title, the Nevada native’s records still stand today. Over three decades later, Hibben remains the one to beat for every new Longhorn who sets their sights on those records. Needless to say, Anjelina and Izzy Starck’s mother was a huge influence behind their choice to pursue college volleyball.

How Errica Hibben inspired the Penn State stars

Throughout the years, the Starck sisters have spoken about how their mother inspired them on more than one occasion. Growing up with parents who once lived and breathed the sport, Anjelina and Isabella Starck embraced the volleyball culture as kids. “Every summer, we have spent time visiting college campuses all over the country,” Anjela Starck said.

“Penn State was one of my favorite campuses,” Starck said while committing to the Nittany Lions in 2020. The fact that they also grew up with their mother’s stories became apparent only recently. On December 19, the official NCAA Championships social media handles posted a video of the sisters watching rare archive footage of their mother playing for the first time.

Yes, you read that right; until recently, neither sister had watched footage of their mother play. “She has a hard time finding videos of her playing… That’s so cool,” said the sister after watching their mother play on the volleyball court. “She told us about that part. But you know it’s cool like actually seeing her do that type of stuff,” said Izzy. Yet that’s not the only thing Hibben did.

When asked about the words of wisdom Errica Hibben has imparted over the years, the Penn State duo opened up. “She knows a lot about volleyball, and it’s nice having someone like 24×7 to ask about volleyball. She always just tells us just to enjoy every moment because it goes by so fast,” added Anjelina Starck.

The sisters explained that their mother also advised them about everything from recruiting to watching something Hibben never had: Social media. Thankfully, the inspiration and advice have paid off. Today, Izzy and Anjelina have the opportunity to create history themselves. The Nittany Lions coach, Katie Schumacher-Cawley has the chance to become the first female NCAA Championship-winning coach. If they succeed, the names of the Penn State stars will be etched in the history books alongside their coach.