Written by: Natalie Compe
National champion volleyball player. Second team all-tournament. Honorable mention all-tournament. Future doctor. None of these personal victories would’ve been possible without a huge setback in Mason Durst’s life.
At the age of 13, Mason discovered he had a heart condition called Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT). In this condition, your heart suddenly beats much faster than normal due to abnormal electrical signals in the upper chambers. It’s not life-threatening, but it can cause dizziness, shortness of breath, or even cause you to faint in some cases.
This would be Mason’s end of contact sports. He used to play football, baseball, and basketball, but had to change his passion to something else. This is when he found his love for volleyball. Luckily, he hit a growth spurt in his junior year of high school and rose to be 6’7. This was unstoppable in his game, and he soon took his team to the State in his senior year, where they were victorious.
His game was outstanding, with an average hitting percentage of .263% and a 44.9% kill rate. He was also an asset in his serve reception, with 152 receptions and only eight errors throughout the season. This opened up many opportunities for his team to put the point away. These stats were big indicators of the team’s extreme success, resulting in the team’s win in the state volleyball tournament.
Mason was offered a variety of D1 offers from schools, including USC and Ohio State, but he declined because he had always wanted to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison doesn’t have a men’s team, and he was unsure if he wanted to continue playing or focus on his school life. I spoke with a former club teammate of Mason, Dylan Macriola, and he greatly impacted Mason’s decision to play in college. Macriola quotes, “I remember playing against Mason in high school, and I was always mesmerized by how he played. When I heard he committed to Madison, I knew I had to get him to play club.” After several DMs, texts, and interactions, Mason continued this passion for volleyball throughout college, where he joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison Men’s Club Volleyball team. Macriola’s persistence and determination had the biggest impact on Mason’s decision, and overall, Mason looked up to Macriola on the court and elected him captain.
Ultimately, his decision to play impacted the team significantly, and he met some of his best friends through it. He proved his worth by being voted captain and holding various positions on the Executive Board over the past two years. After talking with one of his current teammates, Nathan Chung, some words he used to describe him were “accountable”, “persistent”, and “empathetic” – qualities that make Mason not just a great player, but a great leader. Chung and Mason played club together for years before entering college, and created such a great bond that they became freshman year roommates. They worked dynamically on and off the court and have made a great deal of impact on each other’s lives.
Chung continues to speak highly of Mason, saying, “he is one of the biggest reasons I still play today. He made the game more enjoyable with his contagious personality. We’ve pushed each other for as long as I can remember, and I am glad he will be my teammate for the last game of my college career.”
He has proven to be a leader on and off the court, and it is apparent that his teammates look up to him.
Every year, hundreds of teams from across the country gather for the national club volleyball tournament, competing for the title of best in the nation. For Mason, this stage has become familiar. He has played in two national championship matches—one as a sophomore, one as a junior—each time in front of thousands of spectators, under the bright lights, with everything on the line. Thousands of people piling into the arena, taking their seats to watch him play the sport he once felt was a default.
Mason first stepped onto the championship court in his sophomore year. He was nervous and excited, but did not realize how big the crowd would be. Nearly one thousand people filled the arena, chanting for or against him. Everything about that game was memorable.
“The game was against our rival school, the University of Illinois. The tensions were so high, but we knew their team well since we’ve played them in several tournaments prior to nationals. We knew their weak spots already, and they knew ours; it was just a matter of who would do it better that game,” Mason recalls.
After a well-fought battle against Illinois, he and his team won the National tournament in Kansas City, MO, where he received the Second-Team All-Tournament award. The second time he was in the arena was his junior year, again in KC. That year, their team took second place in the nation. Even though Mason played through a fractured fibula, he still received Honorable Mention All-Tournament. He aims to finish his college career with another national championship win and get voted first-team all-country.
SVT did more than change his athletic passions; it also shaped his career path. Mason developed a love for medicine and chose the Pre-Med track to help those in his shoes. His biggest goal is to become a doctor, which requires dedication, resilience, and a deep commitment to helping others. Balancing high-level athletics with a demanding academic workload has strengthened his time management, discipline, and ability to perform under pressure—qualities that will serve him well in medicine.
After asking Mason how his heart condition changed his approach to life, he stated, “It pushed me to be more mindful of my body, manage stress better, and stay disciplined in both academics and athletics. It also reinforced resilience, teaching me to push forward despite challenges.”
Mason Durst’s story is a testament to the power of resilience, determination, and a willingness to adapt in the face of adversity. From a life-altering heart condition to becoming a national champion volleyball player and future doctor, he has proven that setbacks are not the end—they can be the beginning of something greater. With his passion for helping others, leadership on and off the court, and unwavering dedication to both his athletic and academic pursuits, Mason’s journey is far from over. Whatever challenges lie ahead, one thing is sure: his heart, literally and figuratively, will continue to drive him toward success.