Volleyball star Alix Klineman is hounded by an honor: she is constantly compared to Olympic sensation and Stanford predecessor Kerri Walsh, ’00.
When people say you’re the second coming of a charismatic champion, you’re supposed to feel good. But as much as Klineman appreciates the obvious compliment, she is infused with the kind of intensity that makes her uncomfortable with comparisons to any other athlete. She is determined to be known as her own person in all things, and she’s not going to indulge any confusion about that. Well, except when she’s up to mischief.
Last Halloween—more than halfway through a season that would culminate in a shot at the NCAA championship—Klineman succumbed to the impishness that squirms within her 6-foot-4 frame. She dressed up in a sports bra and Mizuno shorts outfit that identified her as the similarly tall and blonde Walsh. Stanford teammate Gabi Ailes posed as Walsh’s beach volleyball cohort, Misty May-Treanor. Then she went to a party where she assumed people would think “costume.” But the confusion was powerful. “Someone even asked me if I was Kerri Walsh,” recalls Klineman.
Eventually, the link between Klineman and Walsh may transcend any physical comparison or Stanford experiences. History will unite them under the banner of sustained greatness, and that will be that.
Sure, Klineman still has more promise to fulfill. But after two seasons on the Farm, she has made a one-of-a-kind impression. When the American Volleyball Coaches Association selected its 14 first-team All-Americans in December, Klineman was the only underclassman. An outside hitter (as was Walsh), the sophomore led Stanford in kills and was among the Pac-10 Conference leaders in kills and points.
Also picked for the first team: seniors Foluke Akinradewo and Cynthia Barboza, who epitomize an era of bittersweet achievement. Their careers, and those of fellow seniors Jessica Fishburn and Erin Waller, culminated with the team’s third consecutive appearance in the national championship match. But the upshot was a third straight loss in that title showdown, with Penn State triumphing for the second year in a row.
“If you’re competitive,” notes Klineman, “you’re going to end up feeling let down. But everyone on the team knows it was an accomplishment to get there.”
Klineman claims to have a deep easygoing streak off the court, but her conversation reveals a competitive instinct that is almost irrepressible. “My dad will nudge me,” she says, recalling joking family moments, “and I’ll nudge him back harder.” Perhaps most impressively, she has the maturity to control and focus that competitiveness as situations demand.
She played throughout 2008 with a shoulder injury, plus other wear and tear, that required surgery after the season. But she managed those problems—and preserved her ability to perform at an elite level in matches—by not doing more than one day a week of hitting during practice. “She was amazing at handling it and being a good patient,” says head coach John Dunning.
French Connection
Alix Klineman’s full name is Alexandra Rose Klineman. But she says “Alix” pushed aside Alexandra because of her mother’s fondness for the French spelling Alixandra. Besides, she adds, “No guys have it spelled that way.”
On family vacations in France, she says she has been approached by scouts from modeling agencies. Sports Illustrated reported that a film producer contacted her high school coach about it. “I don’t think I’m interested,” says Klineman. But she also says, “I’m very interested in fashion,” and she loves the TV show America’s Next Top Model.
