She played at Nebraska, where she developed into a first-team All-American within one of the most competitive college volleyball programs in the country. After college she did what American players who want to test themselves against the highest level of club competition have to do: she went overseas. She played professionally in Russia and Turkey, where club volleyball operates on a scale — in terms of resources, roster quality, and competitive intensity — that the domestic professional market in the United States has not historically matched. The years abroad made her a better player and a more complete one, and they gave her an international frame of reference that translated directly into her effectiveness as a national team captain. She returned to Team USA across multiple Olympic cycles and held her starting position through a program that was continuously evolving around her.

She married her partner Becky Carlson and has spoken about what it meant to be an openly gay athlete on a team with the visibility of the Olympic program. The Tokyo gold completed something the London silver had left open. She captained the team that finished it.