Just a week ago, JuliAnne Chisholm's athletic career was limited to the volleyball court inside Ahearn Field House.

As an outside hitter for the Kansas State volleyball team, she helped the Wildcats beat Colorado 3-2 in their final match of the season on Saturday night.

Chisholm pounded out 18 kills, and ended her career as a decorated Academic All-American.

But again, that was last week.

Now, as is her personality, Chisholm is immersing herself in yet another challenge.

After completing just one practice with the women's basketball team on Monday, she stood at the free throw line Tuesday night in Bramlage Coliseum with less than a minute remaining in the first half against South Dakota State.

The Wildcats were down by seven points, and suddenly she was thrust into a critical moment on the basketball court. She sank one of two shots, and with that single point, her career as a basketball player had now officially begun.

Chisholm and the Wildcats are in Iowa City today to face the No. 18-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes at 2 p.m. K-State, undefeated and receiving votes in both national polls, is looking to improve to 7-0 on the season.

It was thought Chisholm would wait until the semester was over to begin playing basketball with the Cats, but she has never been slow to take on any challenge.

"It's pretty quick," Chisholm said of the transition. "Volleyball season is over, but if I sit around and wait, I'm not going to get any better any faster."

Chisholm played four minutes in her basketball debut Tuesday night and the Wildcats completed a 56-51 comeback-win over the Jackrabbits.

In her prep career, Chisholm was a standout basketball player at Hillsboro High School and was recruited heavily in both sports. She was named first team all-state in 2006 and first team all-region in 2004 and 2005.

She also holds the school record for career points with 2,467.

The accolades in basketball prompted head basketball coach Deb Patterson to recruit Chisholm heavily for her program, but the two-sport star eventually chose volleyball instead.

"I never forgot her," Patterson said. "JuliAnne had been at camp, and was just a great athlete, and honestly, I wish we had snagged her. I really do. I think we waited too long and volleyball went after her real aggressively and they got her and we didn't — but I would have loved to had her."

It wasn't an easy decision for Chisholm to make, though. After her junior season of volleyball at Hillsboro, Fritz offered her a scholarship to play at K-State, despite pleading from Chisholm for more time to continue her basketball career.

Fritz obliged. However, at the conclusion of her junior year on the basketball court, she chose to accept the offer to play on Fritz's team once she arrived at K-State.

"At the end of the day, God had it set out that I was suppose to play volleyball first," Chisholm said. "And that's what I did."

But NCAA rules allow an athlete a five-year window to participate in athletics, with a four-year limit per sport. Therefore Chisholm, now a junior by NCAA standards on the basketball team, will have two seasons of eligibility with the squad.

Knowing the rules during her senior season with the volleyball team, Chisholm found she had a growing urge to take advantage of them, and continue with her basketball career at the conclusion of the volleyball season.

She soon approached Fritz about the idea. Fritz, who also knew very well the caliber of a basketball player Chisholm had been in high school, told her senior that she should indeed give it a try. She then called Patterson to inform her of Chisholm's interest in the basketball program.

"I don't profess to know anything about basketball," Fritz said in an email. "What I do know is that JuliAnne has a tremendous work ethic, very high expectations of herself and is committed to whatever she does at the highest level. In that way, I think she will help our women's basketball team a great deal."

After receiving a call from Fritz, Patterson was trilled.

"I was like, 'Really?'" Patterson said. "It was just like one of those moments when something really good happens in your life and you are like, 'Wow. How did that drop out of the sky?' I was very excited, and then even more so when I talked to JuliAnne and found out she really meant it."

Chisholm began practice with the squad on Monday and has already fit in well with her new team.

"She is a great teammate," Patterson said. "She is a classic K-State leader. During the summer, she had some opportunities to spend time with some of our players. She is just a good person and is an easy blend, and I think we have an easy team to fit in with."

That blend was shown during the game on Tuesday when Chisholm spent the first 15 minutes of the game sitting with senior teammate Shalin Spani on the K-State bench. Spani, who will miss the season with a torn ACL, spent the majority of the first half coaching Chisholm herself, and helping her become familiar with the plays and concepts the Wildcats use.

"That speaks to the leadership of Shalin and Kelsey Hill," Patterson said. "They are coaching her through plays and things that they are hearing me communicate on the sideline, and getting accustomed to the semantics and the learning curve a little bit from the sideline."

Meanwhile, she has still been with the program for less than a week, and it will take some time for Chisholm to become fully immersed into the culture and Patterson's coaching and the playing style of her squad.

She played a total of just four minutes on Tuesday, and admits she still needs to get into shape when it comes to the speed of the game.

"I have a long way to go," Chisholm said.

Though there is a reason Patterson was adamant and welcoming to her new player. With two seasons of eligibility remaining with basketball, Chisholm has time to become comfortable with the systems, and show Patterson the skills she displayed four years ago at Hillsboro.

"I want to make them better and I hope they make me better," Chisholm said. "I haven't played in four years, but I'm excited to do it. I love basketball and I am so excited to get the opportunity to play."


Photo - The Manhattan Mercury