State Volleyball Head Coach Bing Xu discusses his expectations for the upcoming ESU volleyball season Tuesday morning inside his office at the HPER Building. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin
Would you say the expectations for this team are a good motivation for the team or a distraction?
Kind of both. When we’re ranked number three in the conference and number twelve in the nation, I think it is a reasonable ranking, and I also believe it leaves room for us to work harder and give us motivation to be on the top so that’s our goal. Our players… all have a higher goal this year and try to make this the best season ever. We still need to work hard every day, we’re not there yet. We all realize that, and they put a lot of effort on the court and that’s the really good part. I think they like the challenge.
How did you feel coming away from the black and gold game last Friday?
I gave them a C+. We have quite a few people who showed up and support us, and I think at first they were a little bit nervous. One part is nerves, the second part we see the hesitation on the court because we have a lot of new players and they have to get to know each other’s game. This is the first time we put two teams against each other – a black team and a gold team. The reason is we need a lot of 6 on 6 playing. We try to make them more comfortable to play together with each other.
How do you see the freshmen and newcomers contributing this year?
They are good freshman. Paige Vanderpoolhas played a lot of volleyball.Right now the performance she puts out on the court is not like a freshman. The other freshman Morgan(Buckner), she’s a big lefty, she’s very athletic. I think she will contribute to this team a lot, too. Kenda (Ely), she’s a freshman, she’s still learning the game, learning the pace. Amanda(Gerety), she’s a setter doing very well. I think all freshmen they will, here or there, contribute to this program. We also have three transfer students. They all have a lot of playing experience.
How excited is the team to finally get underway with the season?
I think they’re ready. Even during practice they were talking about this tournament. Four teams we’re going to play there. They’re all good teams. The first tournament sometimes you expect more, but just depends on the actual date and the performance they put on the court. We’ll prepare well for this tournament mentally, physically, and technically.
Brandon Schneeberger
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