Building a Blocker: Gigi Greenlee's Impact on NAU Volleyball

When Gigi Greenlee first stepped onto a volleyball court in fourth grade, she never imagined it would become such a large part of her life.

The redshirt junior middle blocker grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz. and prepped at Horizon High School before continuing her academic and athletic career at NAU. She grew up playing a multitude of sports, including basketball, soccer and a short-lived career in gymnastics, before finally ending on volleyball.

But volleyball wasn’t the obvious choice at the start. After trying the sport early, she took a three-year break before starting back up in middle school. That is when it clicked.

It wasn’t a smooth journey to where she is now. Greenlee started on the third team of her club in middle school, far from the spotlight. It wasn’t until high school that she was recognized as a potential talent. After being seen by a club coach at a high school camp before her freshman year, Greenlee took the jump to the top team in her club. That same year she made her high school freshman team and by her sophomore season, she made the varsity squad. Greenlee credits this progression to her realization that volleyball is what she wanted to pursue.

Greenlee finished her high school career on a high note, leading Horizon to back-to-back state championships in her junior and senior seasons. However, the transition from high school to college would prove more difficult than she would have anticipated.

Heading into her freshman year at NAU, she was not at full strength. After suffering a torn ACL during the end of her senior year, she was unsure how she would fit into the team, both physically and mentally. Still, she was not ready to be done.

“I had so much support from my team, the coaching staff, the athletic trainers, the physical therapist,” Greenlee said. “I felt like, okay, I just have to keep moving forward because I don't know, I'm not done with this yet.”

She also wasn’t coming in as a total stranger. There was a familiar face at NAU waiting for her, senior setter Keira Hall who had been Greenlee’s teammate in high school.

“I just knew immediately I had someone that I could go to,” Greenlee said. “The setter-hitter connection is so important and I said this is gonna work. We kind of were able to take that connection on and off the court that we had in high school and take it into our game time here at NAU.”

Now, Greenlee has become a standout middle blocker for the Lumberjacks. She ranked second on the team in kills with 268 in 116 sets played this season and led the team in blocks with 138 total. She finished the 2025 season ranked second in the Big Sky Conference in both hitting percentage (.370) and blocks (1.19 per set). This is a testament to her presence at the net and the growth she has worked towards post injury.

Her journey has not just been about the stats. Greenlee credits volleyball to many things outside of the sport as well.

“It's helped me build relationships, manage my schedule and just be a little more on top of things overall and work through anything.”
 

Greenlee also highlighted the importance of stepping away and creating balance between her personal life and volleyball.

“A lot of the time as student-athletes, we can get so wrapped up into our sport that we just forget that there's a whole other life we could be living in our free time,” Greenlee said. “To help with this balance, I fill a lot of my time with just finding things to do around Flagstaff.”

Outside of her life on the court, Greenlee also likes to engage in many different activities to help her create this balance. She enjoys taking time to get crafty, a hobby influenced by a former teammate and roommate. Music is also a big part of her life. She loves to sing and help out with her brother’s band, Archer Stevens. She is a self-proclaimed movie lover, and has recently started to attempt to pick up reading as another way to help find that balance in her life.

“Whether you're a student-athlete or just getting through, just always remember, balance everything out,” Greenlee advises. “Balance the good and the bad because everything will pass you by.”