Quick Digs With Sarah Meister
5/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
May 1, 2014
With the spring season coming to a close, and finals just around the corner, our squad has progressed immensely. We have had the opportunity to travel to a few schools for scrimmages this off-season which helped our team improve in many areas of our game. Our practices have been great in preparation for the fall, but it's the scrimmages that highlight where we are at and where we need to improve. We are put in more game-like situations which becomes more challenging and important to enhance our performance. The second half our spring season we played Truman State and SIU. It was a pleasure getting to play against these girls who were just as committed as we were to skill development and improvement. The games went very well as we played sideout games, and games to 25. Wayne was very pleased with how much we clicked as a team and the effort we gave on the court. The scrimmages were a great platform in discovering how we were progressing throughout the off-season, and our future goals for season play.
The last week of our spring season consisted of time spent out on the sand volleyball courts next to Stankowski field. We were all very excited to finally get out in the sand and enjoy some time in the sun. As much as we love sand volleyball, we couldn't wait to get a tan! The first few days we focussed primarily on skill work, as it has been a while since we've last played beach. I was extremely impressed by how quickly everyone caught on. It made for a competitive environment and high level of play. Playing in the sand is a lot more difficult than anyone would expect. You're feet often get stuck in the sand and it can be very hard to move. We did a great job of picking up our feet to learn how to drive through the sand and get up quickly. The last day of sand we played a round robin tournament with our teammates, a total of about 10 games. Whoever won the most games would be crowned Queen of the Sand. Naturally we only thought it would be fitting if either Loxley or Carly won since they are native hawaiians who kill it in beach volleyball. They were total studs, so any chance we had to be on their team we were all excited. Carly was crowned Sand Champion by the end of it, which came as no surprise.
Beyond our last few days of spring season sand play, we had our huge 2014 ROARS Athletic Banquet. This banquet includes all the athletic staff, coaches, and players from each Missouri team. It was an absolute blast! It was nice to see the players out of their sweats and jerseys, and dressed to the nines in formal wear. Our team looked gorgeous, as we knew Monday night was going to be a big night of many nominations and awards for the squad. We were honored to have been chosen as the number one Athletic team of the year. The three captains (myself, Whitney, and Emily) went upstage to accept our award. It was such an accomplishment and we couldn't have been prouder. Molly Kreklow won the 2013-2014 Leadership Award and once again the captains accpeted it on behalf of Molly because she couldn't be there. Additionally, Carly won the Freshman of the year award, who was absolutely deserving for such an accomplishment. Lastly, two members of our coaching staff won additional coaching awards for their outstanding achievement within our team and as part of the Missouri family. Scotta Morton who won coach of the year was recognized in her development of our team as a sports psychologist and inspiration for us as players. Not only did she teach us how to think right in sport, but truly has made us better people. Wayne won the academic coach of the year award in honor of our team's outstanding cumulative GPA. Wayne has always pushed us to be better athletes on the court, but in the classroom as well. He believes that the effort you put into practice every day is just as important in your school work. Both have been coaching inspirations, and have made this year easy to love what we do and find happiness in doing it.
It has been an incredible year thus far on the court, in the weightroom, and in the classroom. We look forward to the future of Missouri volleyball as four incoming Freshmen join the crew this summer and tackle another season yet again that will go down in the books.
