Mikaela Hestmann Tierno is one of the rising stars in Brazilian volleyball and she is shining bright at the ongoing FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Championship in Serbia and Croatia. At the age of 17, she is following her true love for volleyball and chasing every athlete’s dream to be an Olympic champion one day. And in a way, it is fair to say that she chose volleyball over family…

Mikaela was born in 2007 in Norway to a Norwegian mother and a Brazilian father. She was only two months old when they moved to Rio de Janeiro. And what is a city like Rio going to do to you other than get you hooked to volleyball… At first, it was beach volleyball, of course. Her older brothers were indulging in the sport on the vast Rio beaches and Mikaela followed suit when she was about 10 years old.

“I started playing volleyball in 2017,” the 1.81m-tall outside hitter told FIVB.com on the premises of the U19 World Championship in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia. “My brothers played beach volleyball. I am from Rio de Janeiro and it’s really common there. So I started playing with them on the beach. Then I got in a club and started liking it more and more…”

Some four years ago, Mikaela’s mother and brothers decided to move back to Norway, but the young volleyball hopeful preferred to stay in Brazil, because of the sport.

“My whole life I lived in Brazil, but my family – my two brothers and my mother – moved to Norway in 2021. Only my father stayed in Brazil with me, because I wanted to stay here to play volleyball.

“I have always really loved doing sports. I’ve done almost everything I could. But I think I found myself in volleyball. I really liked the daily practicing and the whole group, the whole team feeling was really good for me, really comfortable. So I just liked it and kept going…”

Mikaela’s talent was noticed at a very early age and she was only 14, when she was already playing for Brazil at international U19 competitions, taking two continental silvers in 2022, at the U19 Pan American Cup and the Girls’ U19 South American Championship. The following year, she took part in the 2023 U19 World Championship, and as she grew older and gained more experience, she turned into a regular starter and a charismatic leader for her youth national team.

Last summer, she not only inspired Brazil to the continental title at the U19 South American Championship, but also earned the Most Valuable Player honors, claimed a spot on the Dream Team, and fired 10 aces to prove as the best server of the tournament. For the record, Mikaela was Brazil’s best server of the pool stage at the ongoing U19 World Championship. In the pool victory over hosts Serbia alone, she contributed an impressive six aces.

Mikaela’s growth did not remain unnoticed and she received the opportunity to make her debut in Brazil’s professional women’s Superliga in the 2024-2025 season, selected by none other than one of volleyball’s greats Bernardo Rezende for his club team Sesc RJ Flamengo Rio de Janeiro.

“Oh, it was amazing!” she exclaimed. “I was playing with Bernardo. He and his assistant coaches are just the best I can think. Everything was really good. Bernardo was really a different coach. Mauricio (Thomas), our coach here, also worked with him, so they are really alike on the court, and it was easy for me to play with him too. The most important things I learned from Bernardo were maybe the team spirit and then the really, really hard work. Work is everything an athlete can do. I keep in mind that work is always going to make me more confident in myself. If I work hard and if I work well, I am going to play well.”

“Of course, I want to be an Olympic champion,” Mikaela pointed to the main goal in her career endeavors. “It’s a dream for every athlete. But I also want to win the Superliga with Bernardo and our team in Rio.”

Brazil won all of their first six matches at the U19 World Championship in Serbia and earned the right to continue in the final stages of the competition in Croatia.

“Everyone is really believing,” Mikaela commented. “We are really confident at this championship, but we have in mind that the other teams are really strong and come from really hard matches. But it is what it is, so we just keep in mind that we need to do our best. I think I personally can still do much better, but I am trying not to be too hard on myself.”

• Watch the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Championship on VBTV

2025 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Championship: schedule and results

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