Rubenstein excels on court, in classroom at Pepperdine
Oaks Christian grad popular with teammates
By Shuhei Matsuo Special to the Acorn

JEFF GOLDEN/Pepperdine Athletics A WAVE FROM A WAVE- Julie Rubenstein, a junior on the Pepperdine women's volleyball team, had an illustrious high school career at Oaks Christian before taking her game to Malibu.

Julie Rubenstein is the epitome of a student-athlete.

The former Oaks Christian standout, who now plays Division I volleyball at Pepperdine, was the Waves' kills leader last season and is also a member of the NCAA StudentAthlete Advisory Committee.

Rubenstein is the first person in Pepperdine history to earn a spot on the committee's national board.

In January, she was one of three Waves to earn West Coast Conference AllAcademic honors, which require studentathletes to maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.2 while also making significant contributions to the team.

"It's cool to be honored for academics as well as for athletics because I take both seriously," the junior outside hitter said. "It's neat to see that."

Of course, studying and playing volleyball aren't the only important things in Rubenstein's life. She stays active off the court, too, meeting new people and spending time with her friends. In fact, her teammate Kiah Fiers calls her a "social butterfly."

"Everybody likes her; everybody knows her," said Fiers, who also received WCC AllAmerican honors with Rubenstein. "She just has a lot of friends- very outgoing and talkative."

On the court, Rubenstein brings out the serious side of her personality. During the 2007 season, Rubenstein recorded a teamhigh 476 kills. As a leader, she always stays positive and makes sure her teammates are having fun, Fiers said.

"She just does everything really well," Fiers said. "She's perfect."

Scott Wong, who instructed Rubenstein during her senior year at Oaks Christian, said she was a standout on the court and in the classroom at OCHS.

"The volleyball season in high school is pretty short, but (I found that) she is a quality person raised by great parents," said Wong, who's now an assistant coach for the Pepperdine men's volleyball team.

Rubenstein does everything so well she could probably pursue anything she wants in life.

After graduation, she said she wants to play professional volleyball in Europe for a couple of years. The United States does not have a professional women's indoor volleyball league.

"For some reason indoor volleyball for women in the U.S. is tough to get a good following," Rubenstein said. "I don't really know why. I guess we've just got to go overseas. It would be fun to get to play in Europe."

The Association of Volleyball Professionals has a large beach volleyball following, and Rubenstein grew up near the ocean all her life. Could beach volleyball be a possible career path?

"I thought about it," Rubenstein said. "It's really different and really difficult. But who knows?"

Rubenstein said she won't be playing volleyball for too long because she plans to be an elementary school teacher, just like her mother.

"I love kids, so I figured I'd work well with them," she said. "I have patience for kids, and I think it would be really neat to see how teaching them would change them, just to see the growth in young kids' mind."

Before she meanders down the professional path, Rubenstein still has more than a year to master what she currently excels at: being an outstanding student-athlete.

"I just want to keep academics and athletics at a high standard for myself," she said. "I want to continue to get better, both in school and volleyball."