Sports

D-I volleyball in sight, SFP’s Hannigan to play at Albany

Julia Hannigan had the deck stacked against her as far as becoming a Division I women’s volleyball player.

The St. Francis Prep grad was born without sight in her left eye. She’s never been exceptionally athletic or tall. And playing in New York City – not quite a volleyball hotbed – didn’t help her either.

But Hannigan combined superior skill with incredible dedication and hard work. Two weeks ago, that was rewarded when the star setter found out she would be able to walk on to the team at the University of Albany next year with the promise of an athletic scholarship as a sophomore.

“I have always worked hard and strived to play my best and hoped to play on a D-I team,” Hannigan said. “I’m extremely excited and am looking forward to the challenge of playing on such a competitive level.”

Albany is a perennial powerhouse in the America East conference, playing in the NCAA tournament almost every year. Hannigan had experience with the school already – her brother went there – and when she found out about how successful the program was, she contacted the coaching staff. In April at the Northeast Qualifier in Baltimore, coaches from the Great Danes watched Hannigan play with her LIBA club team.

She has been in contact with them ever since and, despite having other opportunities at schools like Rider, chose to play her college volleyball at Albany.

“I had visited [my brother] and I loved the large campus and the urban feeling,” said Hannigan, a Floral Park native.

Hannigan, The Post’s All-City girls volleyball Player of the Year, had an incredible career at St. Francis Prep. Starting since she was a sophomore, the 5-foot-7 Hannigan led the Terriers to three straight CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens titles and two trips to the CHSAA Class AA semifinals. SFP coach Kevin Colucci said she’ll go down as one of the best setters he has ever had, right up there with Ariel Pierre, who earned a scholarship to Temple.

“She stands out in the way she can run things, how she manages the game,” Colucci said. “In every situation, she stays composed and even keeled the whole time. You could see her mental capacity was well beyond what you would expect.”

What still makes Colucci shake his head is how Hannigan was able to be as good as she was while being blind in her left eye. Ironically, her vision of the court was one of the greatest strengths, along with her superior hands and ball control.

“That one is tough to answer,” the coach said. “It’s a major accomplishment for her. It just shows how talented she is.”

The recruiting process was a tough one. It usually is for New York City players. Typically even the best girls in the five boroughs have a hard time earning interest from Division I schools, let alone athletic scholarships.

“It was definitely a stressful time period,” Hannigan said. “But by talking to present and past teammates and players I know from out of state, I learned those girls were going through the same experience I was going through.”

Colucci said he expects her to see time right away, because Hannigan will be willing to do anything and play anywhere to get on the court. The coach said she might be able to contribute in the back row if there isn’t a spot at setter open.

“She’s not just one dimensional,” Colucci said.

Even though she can see out of only one eye.

“I have never really thought of my sight as an issue, because it is all I’ve ever known,” Hannigan said.

Soon she will know all about Division I volleyball.

mraimondi@nypost.com