From Underdog to Star – NAIA Women’s Volleyball Notebook #2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –  Juliauna Forgach Aguilar started her college volleyball career at Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in 2022 with only two starts as a freshman, and now, after graduating, she’s continuing her competitive career with a professional contract in Germany.

In her sophomore season, she began to shine as she entered 36 more sets than she did her freshman season and collected her first collegiate honors of her career including AVCA All-Northwest Region Honorable Mention, First-Team All-Cascade Conference and LCSPYs Female Breakthrough Athlete of the Year. Forgach Aguilar had not hit her ceiling yet, though.

She shattered program records during her junior season in kills per set (4.60) and points per set (4.91) as her name began to appear on the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) and NAIA leaderboards. She became one of two Warriors who started all 28 matches that season, while she made her way onto the AVCA All-America Honorable Mention list and was elevated to the AVCA First-Team All-Northwest Region and repeated as First-Team All-Cascade Conference.

Juliauna continued to raise her standard in her senior season as she appeared in all 27 of the Warriors’ matches with 22 starts. She also reached a huge milestone as she recorded her 1,000^th kill in just the season match of the season. She was elevated to AVCA Third-Team All-American, AVCA First-Team All-West Region, made her first appearance as an NAIA All-American on the Third-Team and repeated as First-Team All-Cascade Conference.

But her impact at LC reached further than the court. Forgach Aguilar found success in the classroom as a three-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete, three-time CSC Academic All-District, three-time Academic All-Cascade Conference and CSC First-Team Academic All-American.

She rounded out her time at Lewis-Clark State as an intern in the sports information office,  was one of the first interns for the CCC office, and capped off her senior year working at the NAIA World Series.

After graduating, the outside hitter signed a contract to play professional volleyball in Germany for SV Lohof in Unterschleissheim.

“The NAIA and LC prepared me to take this next step by teaching me what it means to take risks and work hard for your goals,” said Juliauna. “The Right Way to Play fostered an environment within our program that allowed me to have the confidence to achieve so much with all the support around me. It also taught me that even as a small program, we still can have big dreams and chase after them both on and off the court.”

Doors were opened for Forgach Aguilar to travel around the world and continue her volleyball career through former Warrior teammate Livia Haesslein, who had previously played for the team.

“Juliauna Forgach Aguilar’s journey to professional volleyball in Germany is a milestone that extends far beyond one player’s success,” LC State coach Katie Palmer said. “It is a defining moment for Warrior Volleyball. Her path proves that student-athletes can come to LC State, develop over the course of four years, and leave prepared to pursue their dreams at the highest level. We couldn’t be more excited for her to continue growing on and off the court and we’ll be cheering her on from afar.”

SV Lohof competes in Germany’s Bundesliga and opens its 2026-27 season in September. The season kicks off on Sept. 19 and will run through April. The team will compete around Germany with a roster that features players from all over the world. After a win in the league championship last season, the club moved up a tier to the second level of the Bundesliga.

“I look forward to growing not only my skills and ability on the court but learning how to handle the challenges of different styles of play in Europe,” Forgach Aguilar said. “I also look forward to seeing how I grow as a person being so far away from home and learning a new culture.”

Her story is not one of overnight success.

It is the story of a student-athlete who trusted the process despite limited playing time as a freshman. A player who worked behind the scenes, both inside the gym and outside of it, as she seized opportunities in the school’s athletic department and at the conference level. A scholar who excelled in the classroom. A teammate who lived the NAIA’s Right Way to Play values. And an athlete who transformed herself from an underdog fighting for opportunities into one of the greatest players in Lewis-Clark State history.