NCAA.com has published a Q&A feature with Coppin State volleyball standout Ashley Roman for Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month.

Roman, a three-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and the conference's all-time leader in career digs, is a native of Isabela, Puerto Rico. To quote writer Corbin McGuire's piece, "Roman ... did not want to leave her home in Isabela, Puerto Rico, as a teenager with noticeable talent in the sport — talent many around her knew could change Roman's world.   

"'I was in my comfort zone, but the amount of people that would constantly say, 'Ashley, there's a whole entire world out there. There's so many opportunities. There's bigger things that you can achieve.' I think it just took me being more mature, growing as a woman, to realize that I had to make that huge step,' said Roman, a fifth-year student-athlete for Coppin State.

"That huge step started by doing mass outreach to NCAA volleyball coaches during her senior year of high school, only to realize she was late to the recruiting process by then. Roman eventually resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't leave the island — due to a lack of options, not a lack of interest on her part.  

"Her fortunes changed when a YouTube video of her training with the Puerto Rico national team caught the eye of the coaching staff at Coppin State, located in Baltimore. The rest is, quite literally, history."

To read the full Q&A, click here.