Feb. 27, 2014
As the month of February comes to a close, there have been many significant events and experiential opportunities for our squad. Over the past week, we have been filled with a jam-packed schedule off the court. As mentioned in previous posts, we were honored at the Jefferson City Capitol Monday, an experience we are all very grateful for. It was the kind of opportunity you don't come by often, and we were open to it graciously. We cannot express our gratitude to members of congress who invited us to such a prestigious ceremony. We were given a grand tour of the Capitol and were honored at both the House and Senate meetings. It was an honor to stand before politicians and state representative leaders. We took pictures with the Trophy as we carried it around the Capitol. Whitney and I carried that trophy like it was our child seeing as we didn't want a repeat of the fumble we had at the women's basketball game. The best part of the tour was when we were led up to the very top of the Capitol dome. It was crazy how high up it was, almost like a secret passage way. We told Wayne that that was going to be our workout for the day after all the stairs we booked up. When we finally reached the top of the dome, we were let out of a small door to an upper balcony. The view was incredible. We are able to see all of Jefferson City, the Missouri River, and even scope out where Columbia was. As we always do, we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a photomontage of "selfies" and snapchat stories. Let's be honest, you only get a view from the State Capitol like that once in a lifetime. It was an incredible experience and we were all grateful that we could be the guests of honor.
Monday held a special place in our hearts, but last weekend meant all business as Carly, Whitney, Emily, and myself headed to the Colorado Olympic Training Center for the Youth National Team Tryouts. Like any road trip with Missouri Volleyball, there is always bound to be an adventurous story and good laughs. We spent the night at a hotel in Kansas City and left for Colorado Friday morning out of KCI Airport. Of course, we nearly missed our flight. As we ran onto the plane after multiple final boarding calls (and yes, our four names were called over the loud speakers) we managed just to make it in the knick of time. After landing in Denver, the first people we saw were two girls from the Purdue volleyball team who were obviously heading to Colorado with us. It would be our luck to see the one team we have vengeance for the most. Naturally, they were on our flight. With the occasional awkward stares and subtle laughs, we'd come to find that these girls were actually some of the nicest players there. As much as we wanted to scorn them, they were equally great as players as they seemed people. When we arrived at the training center, we were assigned our rooms, which were the equivalent of small dormitories. I roomed with Carly and a freshman named Ebony Nwanebu who played for USC. Whitney and Emily roomed together in the dorm next to us. We had some serious quality bonding time. Whitney who broke it down with her incredible dance moves, Carly who laughed at nearly everything I said, and Wilson who always made it her prerogative to point out my occasional "blonde girl" moments. See @sarahmeistyisms for the full effect. Beyond the memories we always make, we were there for volleyball and to play at a high level of competition. We may or may not have been there to see our boy Michael Phelps, but that came with the perks of the experience. Out of the 250 players trying out, there were a total of three groups with separate practice times. We were in the red group, which was the first group of the day. Our practice was intense focused solely on playing and wave-through drills. The level of play was phenomenal, as we recognized some of the best players in the country, and of course, familiar faces from the SEC. We had our reservations of how a tryout this grand would turn out, but everyone flowed well with each other and worked equally as hard as the next person. I played with Carly an awful lot, which was nice, because we always feed off each other's energy well.
It was an honor to play on behalf of Coach Karch Kiraly and the USA staff. They always had insightful criticism for us but emphasized the need to play at a fast pace. After our first practice came to an end we were all exhausted from a long ay of travel and intense first session. I'm pretty it was the first time I was in bed before 8p.m. on a Friday night. The next day consisted of a two sessions one in the morning, and one in the late afternoon. Once again, everyone was divided into three groups. Lucky for us four, we remained in the same Red group. The morning practice consisted of more technique work by position. There was a serve and pass portion where I knew I would take advantage of since it was in my prime. There was a portion delegated to middles and setters as they worked to connect on combination sets. The second portion primarily consisted of playing and transition drills. We jumped straight into playing in the afternoon session, which turned out to be some of the highest level of play I had seen there thus far. During our break between sessions we checked out all that the facilities had to offer. We went to the USA Team store and dropped money (Sorry Dad). They had awesome gear and quality dry fit T-shirts. We couldn't help ourselves! The cafeteria food was incredible, almost too good. I think we collectively gained 50 pounds alone from that trip. It was during that break when I spotted Phelps out of the corner of my eye. He was incognito, head down with a full-grown beard, wearing a baseball cap. I wasn't sure if I should be proud or ashamed of my incredible creeping skills because I spotted him in seconds when no one else believed me it was him at first. Wilson managed to get the creeper picture from above the dining hall as he ate his lunch, so I didn't feel as bad about my skillful stalking. After an amazing two days came to a close, we were on the final stretch of the tryout process. There was one final session Sunday morning before our departure to Columbia. A different posting of groups were updated for the Sunday morning session. Carly, Emily, and I remained in the Red group, a remarkable group in itself with our friends from Purdue and fellow SEC players. Whitney however, was honored in the white group, a select 18 ladies that were invited to a private practice with Coach Kiraly. This was a huge accomplishment for her, as she played alongside the best players in the nation, and was honored to work side by side with Coach Kiraly himself. We couldn't have been happier for her as she represented our team, our school, and the SEC honorably. In the Red group, we were randomly divided into teams and played a mini series of games. I was the libero for Georgia's setter and long-time friend, Kaylee Kehoe. We all had a blast connecting with players from the SEC such as the middles from Ole Miss, Georgia's offense, and a few friends from LSU. As we set out for Columbia tired and sore, we knew it was a trip worthwhile, an opportunity of a lifetime, and an experience to be remembered.