One 19-year-old sophomore on the North Idaho College women's volleyball team wants to become a veterinarian, while the other wants to become a volleyball coach some day.

One is 5-foot-2, a vocal leader, libero, team captain and is the shortest player on the Cardinals, while the other is among the tallest at 6 feet, is an outside hitter and is more of a quiet presence.

Together, libero Russia Robinson - a captain - and outside hitter Leeta Grap have formed quite the duo for NIC (14-9, 6-4 Scenic West Athletic Conference) as it heads into today's NJCAA Region 18 volleyball tournament at Salt Lake Community College.

North Idaho College coach Miles Kydd, who was the coach at Eastern Washington University for the previous four seasons and has coached volleyball for 30 years, had high praise for both Grap, the team's leader in kills per game at 3.41, which is 25th in the nation, and Robinson.

"I've never coached a better player at her position," Kydd said of Robinson. "Russia's the best leader I've ever coached. She's a good server, she's a great setter, a good defensive player, a good passer. I've coached liberos who were good passers, but couldn't serve. She brings the whole thing to the table ... she (Grap) is one of the best hitters I've ever coached. She's (NCAA) Division I talent, for sure."

IN ORDER to advance to nationals in Casper, Wyo., No. 3 seed North Idaho College must win two matches today. At 9 a.m., the Cardinals play No. 6 seed Colorado Northwestern Community College. The winner of the morning match plays at 3 p.m. today against No. 2 seed College of Southern Idaho, the defending national champions and the winner of that match qualifies to nationals. NIC defeated CSI last Friday at home, 25-20, 25-22, 25-19.

"The CSI coach said the same thing," Kydd said of Robinson. "They couldn't get the ball past her."

The winner of this afternoon's match advances to play in the title match at noon on Saturday for seeding in the national tournament.

AMONG LIBEROS this season, Robinson, a two-time SWAC player of the week this season, leads the conference in digs per game, has the most assists per game among liberos and is second in service aces per game. A libero is a back row player who is not allowed to block and can't hit the ball if it's above the top of the net.

"My dad is a huge Rush Limbaugh fan," said Robinson, on how she got her first name from her father, Marc Robinson. "If I would've been a boy, then my name would've been Rush. But I was born a girl, so it's Russia."

At Hemet High, where she was named to the all-California Interscholastic Federation first team and won a Div. IV section championship, Russia Robinson was able to play for her older sister, Jewel, during her junior and senior seasons. Jewel Robinson, who played volleyball for Bacone College, an NAIA school in Muskogee, Okla., before fracturing her spine and needing two discs placed in her back in 2009, is now 26 years old.

"It was pretty awesome playing for her," Russia Robinson said. "My sister and I are pretty close, she got me into volleyball in the first place. She knew how to push me ... so I really enjoyed it. We never argued, but there was this one time during my junior year, where I was getting a little frustrated because I wasn't playing well. She told me to change my attitude and I didn't, so she benched me."

Robinson was born in Palm Springs, Calif. Her family and she lived in nearby Idyllwild. When Russia was 10, her parents moved to Hemet, Calif., in part because that was the closest high school in the area. They also lived in Culver City, near Los Angeles, for a few years. Her father works for a precious metals company, selling machinery to factories. Her mother, Inday Robinson, who Marc met when he was in the Philippines, works as a medical biller in Hemet.

But Russia has a few ties to the area. Marc Robinson grew up in Moscow and graduated from Eastern Washington University, and her grandfather lives in Moscow, while her cousins live in Lewiston and Genesee. She said her family hasn't been able to make any trips to see any of her matches but have seen her play several times online.

Russia said she wanted to go to Idaho, but the Vandals only offered her the chance to walk on. Her dad looked at other colleges in the area and found NIC.

"So I sent (former NIC coach) Kandice (Gregorak) my highlight film," she said. "When I was here (on a recruiting trip), they (NIC) offered me a full two-year scholarship, books, tuition, the whole thing. It's hard to get funding for my position; schools usually offer money to hitters and stuff."

Robinson said Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston has offered her a full scholarship to play volleyball there next year. Michigan State and Idaho have also shown interest.

Robinson, who was named to the NJCAA Academic All-American team and led NIC in digs and aces last season, has a 3.8 grade-point average, is a veterinary medicine major and loves animals. She said she'd love to live in Idaho after graduating with a bachelor's degree.

"It's been a lot of fun," Robinson said of playing the past two seasons. "I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls ... it's the first time in my volleyball career where I feel myself getting stronger ... I feel really good about our chances in regionals."

GRAP, WHO played in high school at Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Kameula, Hawaii, located on the big island, originally wanted to play for Western Nebraska Community College.

In February of 2012, she was playing in a tournament in Las Vegas when Gregorak contacted her. Grap was born in Waimea, Hawaii.

"Kandice came up to me out of nowhere," Grap said. "My dad, Dalyn, and I visited the campus (at North Idaho College) during the spring time (during my senior year in high school) and I liked it. There's a lake here and it's kind of like being at the beach ... my parents thought a junior college was a better fit for me, because I came from a smaller school and a smaller campus might be good for me. Plus I had to decide whether I wanted to play volleyball or soccer. I wasn't really sure going into college. It was about even (the offers between the two sports), so it was really hard."

Kydd said Grap is among the best he's ever coached.

"In her position, she's one of the most talented players I've seen," Kydd said. "She can hit a wide variety of shots. Her role is a lot different (this year). Last year, we had (NJCAA second team All-American middle blocker) Yang Yang and she carried the offense, so Leeta's job was to be a complimentary piece. The way our team works is if Russia plays well and Leeta plays well, then we have a chance (to win)."

Grap, who is still deciding on whether she wants to major in sports management or exercise science, said she has attracted interest from the University of North Dakota, as well as Loyola Marymount, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. She wants to stay on the West Coast, if possible.

Grap started for North Idaho College last season as it finished eighth at nationals in West Plains, Mo. The irony for Grap was that Western Nebraska reached the national championship match, before losing to College of Southern Idaho.

"It was crazy," Grap said of the overall experience in nationals. "It was awesome to play our best volleyball, seeing teams from across the country. We all came together."

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, or via email at bbourquin@cdapress.com Follow him on Twitter @bourq25