Aug. 20, 2012
Article written by USD senior Middle Hitter Shelby Staab.
As we report for preseason, we shake out the traces of sand from our backpacks and happily trade-in swimsuits for our spandex and court shoes. The 13 returning members (Seniors: Amber Tatsch, Carrie Baird, Kandiss Anderson, and Shelby Staab Juniors: Rachel Alvey, Chloe Ferrari, Jane Han, Katie Hoekman, and C'era Oliveira Sophomores: Alexa Banker, Jianna Bonomi, Alaysia Brown, and Sandra Lozic) have spent the off season and summer training in the weight room, on the beach courts, and in the gym pushing each other to reach the goal of a WCC championship, but after coming off an impressive Spring season, we are hungry for more looking for this season to surpass our past NCAA appearances. I spent this summer, before my final season, in San Diego with my best friends (my teammates). Maybe it was sleep-walking into the weight-room at 7 a.m., playing beach volleyball for five hours a day, pulling pranks on each other, getting wheel cramping tickets, or waiting in line at Hodad's while still being covered in sand that nurtured this incredible bond we are share. We spent the summer together sharing laughs and creating memories that I will hold for many years to come. Some people had full-time jobs like Junior Jane Han who worked at the YMCA as a camp counselor. Her job included trips to the Zoo, Lego-Land, and Laser Tagging; if any of you know Jane, then you are probably giggling at how perfect this job was for her! Or Senior Amber Tatsch, who loves kids, got to be a full time nanny. Other team-mates took time off to travel overseas; for example Senior Kandiss Anderson traveled across Europe with friends and got to paddle-board in the Mediterranean Sea. Junior Rachel Alvey went on a missions trip to South Africa with her church group and even got time to explore New York City. In addition, Junior Chloe Ferrari took time off with her family and traveled to Ireland and Barcelona. With our crazy schedule, we would often find ourselves getting volleyball reps in at eight o'clock at night just because we know how much we want to make this season count. It was an amazing summer that I am sad to see end, but we are all ready to kick off this year as our first preseason game edges closer each day.
A competitive preseason schedule will challenge us to play against two top twenty-five teams, as well as some past NCAA tournament teams. With "Countdown to Texas Y'all!" written on the locker-room's white-board, Senior Amber Tatsch has been waiting for a team trip back to her home state since her freshman year. Both Amber and freshmen right-side Caroline Ciaccio, also from Texas, will be sure to teach us how to two step and country music will be blasting on the radio as we head to the gym. Our opening weekend in the Texas Burnt Orange Tournament will give us the opportunity to upset the Longhorns, ranked second in the latest coaches' poll, providing us an amazing opportunity to start the season off with a bang and show other teams that we mean business this year. In Texas, we will also face-off against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Louisiana State University. The following weekend we play our two-time NCAA first round opponent, Long Beach State, who we will be looking to avenge their season-ending loss. Our preseason doesn't stop there as we compete in a tournament at USC, where we will also play Cal Poly, once again, and Notre Dame. The Trojans are another top ranked team that handed us our season-ending loss two years ago in the NCAA tournament. We end our preseason schedule back on the Jenny Craig Pavilion court where we will host against Fresno State, Yale, and UCSB.
New Additions Three Freshman are added to the team this season, increasing the squad size to 16. Caroline Ciaccio a 6'2" Opposite from Houston, Texas. Lisa Kramer a 6'2" middle from Encinitas, California, and our only East coast representative, Ryann Powell, a Libero from New Jersey. All three are quickly learning the ins and outs of our team as they continue to improve in every practice. We are excited to see them bring additional abilities to our roster.
We are excited to have coach Jen return to her head coaching position after taking last season off for the birth of her third child, Caroline. With the departure of our past amazing assistant coach, Stephanie Moreno, this season also brings us two new coaches that will add additional knowledge to help our team succeed. You might have seen one of our new coaches with his face buried in his laptop on the side-line of the USA Men's Volleyball team during the London Olympics. Chris Jackson joins the Toreros coaching staff after serving as the technical coordinator for the US Men's Volleyball team for the past three seasons. When Chris attended our home Spring Tournament, we were all amazed at how much information his stat tracking provided and we know that this will help us improve our play and scouting of other teams. Tammy Webb-Leibl is now returning to the sidelines for head coach Jennifer Petrie after an 11-year absence from USD. Tammy's knowledge as a decorated collegiate player, PAC-Ten player of the Decade, and vast over-sea's playing, including 10 years on the National team with 3 Olympic appearances, will further help our team succeed.
Through the ice-baths, cafeteria dinners, catch phrase games, and fro-yo trips we have further bonded as a team, and now we are ready to make the season of 2012 one to remember!
