Patricia Gandolfo traveled a long way on her journey to Northwest Florida, traveling from her hometown of Porto Alegre, Brazil to West Plains, Missouri for two years before eventually finding a home in Pensacola in the fall of 2008.
Gandolfo spent two seasons at UWF, helping the program build on the early success under head coach
Melissa Wolter. Gandolfo made an impact in both years she was in Pensacola, earning two First Team All-GSC awards, four All-South Region honors and was a Third Team AVCA All-America choice in 2009.
She was a dominant force at the net in the GSC and was the tournament's Most Outstanding Player in 2009. Gandolfo hit .312 in her career to rank fourth in UWF history and was the highest ever for a 2-year player until this past season. She compiled 244 total blocks to rank fourth at UWF at the time of her graduation.
UWF went 54-21 (.720) overall and 20-2 in GSC regular-season play in her two seasons, and she was on UWF's first two GSC Tournament Championship teams. The Argos appeared in the 2008 & 2009 NCAA Regional Tournaments, just the third and fourth appearances in program history.
Following two seasons as student assistant, she became the first full-time assistant coach in program history, a position she held from 2012-18.
She earned a bachelor's degree in Advertising from UWF and later added a master's in Physical Education and Human Performance. She is currently the head women's volleyball coach at Pensacola State College.
Gandolfo was inducted into the Missouri State University – West Plains Hall of Fame in 2017 and is the third women's volleyball player to be enshrined in the UWF Hall of Fame.
She and her wife Jennifer Johnson have two dogs, Porkchop and Biscuit.
