SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Coming off the 15th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, Santa Clara volleyball is back on the floor with practice beginning for the 2015 season. Head coach Jon Wallace and the team are excited about the start of a new journey and have dove right into getting ready for the season-opener. Santa Clara hosts the Santa Clara Tournament at Leavey Aug. 28-29. The participating teams are Sacramento State, Rutgers, Weber State, and UC Riverside.
Santa Clara Broncos (SCB) chatted with Nikki Hess (NH), Lacey Maas (LM), Danielle Rottman (DFR), and Wallace (JW) about how the start of the season has been going.
SCB: How has the first week of practice been?
NH: It's exciting. We're all ready to be here. We got together for camp and that was a preview of what was to come. That got us all pumped up and ready to go.
LM: The first week has gone really well. We have a great group that's really focused and dedicated. We've been doing really well so far and everybody is dialed in and ready to get better. We're all excited to play our first game.
JW: Our first week has been really good. The girls came back in great shape and ready to go. We've been working on getting up to speed with our systems both offensively and defensively. The girls are getting better every session, which is fun to see.
SCB: What have you been working on to open up practice for the year?
DR: We've been focused on serving and passing. Serving is huge for our game and we really want to master our serves. We've also been doing a lot of six-on-six to get used to playing next to everyone.
SCB: How are the freshmen fitting in?
DR: They're fitting in really well. It's always nice to have new blood on the court and they're working hard to get better every day.
JW: We've gone back and worked on our culture and working them into our team dynamics. We want to make sure they stay connected to our group. Our returning girls have all reached out and that's what made them feel comfortable.
SCB: Double-days can be tough. How is the team handling such a rigorous training schedule?
LM: Our bodies are handling it well and the coaches are very conscious of how many reps we're taking. We have our lighter sessions in the morning and then have a longer, harder practice in the afternoon. It's a good set up for us.
JW: With this older returning group we're more advanced so we're able to spend less time on the court but get more out of them. They're more receptive to the instruction and know what they need to learn to pick up on what we're doing. We feel like the group is fresh and ready to start strong.
SCB: Who has surprised you in these first few practices?
DR: Natasha Calkins is playing a new position and is really working hard to get used to everything. I've been impressed with her work ethic.
JW: It's been a lot of girls. I've been surprised at the older girls and how much better they've gotten. Our new girls have come in and done a great job. Everybody has improved her game from a year ago.
SCB: How do you keep focused during practice when you don't have any games for a few weeks?
LM: It all comes down to how we prepare for each practice. We write our goals on the board and make sure to keep them in mind. Before each of our practices we take time to visualize our goals. Preparing the same every day will set us up to do the same thing before games.
NH: We just want to get better everyday. We set goals for ourselves before practice. As long as we try to focus on that during practice then it's going to be a good day.
SCB: What's it going to be like starting at home on August 28 vs. Weber St. instead of on the road like you normally do?
DR: It's going to be awesome to start at home. I'm so excited to my senior year at home and hopefully get a big crowd.
JW: This will be the first time in 17 years that we've started at home since I've been here. It's great for us to establish a home court. We're already talking about that in practice. We have a scrimmage this weekend so we're talking about how we'll be here in two weeks playing a real match. That comfort level is going to help us get off to a great start this year.
