Victoria Brisack U.S. Women's National Tryout Blog
March 5, 2017:
Alright everyone, it’s about that time…Today was the last of our four sessions at the USAV tryout.
As predicted, it was very fun and flew by. We were broken up into 12 teams (per session) and played 12 minute rounds for about an hour and a half. In many ways, it almost reminded me of the club days: two teams play and one team refs. While we had been competing with wash games through the entire weekend up to this point, it was very nice to finally be able to just play some regular old volleyball. Each team only played four games, and before we all knew it, the session was over and so was the tryout.
There were some closing remarks from the director, which consisted mostly of him thanking us for our attendance and reminding us how the selection process will go.
By 10:30am, all of us were done. We had until noon to be packed, showered, and out of our dorm rooms. Then, because our airport shuttle didn’t leave until 2:30, we were able to chill, eat, and do homework in the athlete building. It was definitely nice to be able to relax for a bit, but then the reality set in that we had class the next day and homework to finish.
Once 2:30 rolled around, we had boarded our shuttle (1 of 3) and raced the other two to the airport.
I’m currently writing this as we are sitting here, in the Colorado Springs Airport, waiting for our flight which will take us to Dallas. From Dallas we will be heading back to Indy, where our amazing Director of Operations, Shane Wilkinson, will be waiting to pick us up and take us to Bloomington at midnight.
So, I guess this is it! Overall, it was another amazing experience for me - I learned a ton. I know that Liz, Deyshia, and Ally had a blast, as well. My hope is that we will be able to bring some of our experiences back to the team, where we can all use them as motivation and learning opportunities to help make us the best team we can be this spring, summer, and, of course, next fall!
Thank you so much for following the Hoosiers’ adventure to Colorado Springs! I know I can speak for the team when I say that we couldn’t do anything without the unwavering support and belief that you show us day in and day out, and we all appreciate it so much! Keep following the team on twitter (@IUVolleyball) to stay posted about our progress and upcoming competitions later this spring.
See you soon, Bloomington!
- Victoria Brisack
March 4, 2017:
So this concludes Day 2! I can't believe we only have one session left already. It seems like we just got here yesterday... But then again, we did :)
Unfortunately, I didn't get to really see Liz or Deyshia today, due to the multiple different waves, but both said they thought the day went very well! I know Liz was loving the amount of reps she was able to get since there were only two right sides on her court for the majority of the day. I fully expect her to get a good nights sleep tonight, as I can imagine she's probably pretty tired - and rightfully so.
Ally and I were actually in the same sessions all day, so I got to see quite a bit of her. She continued to look strong and aggressive! After talking with her, she is quite pleased with her defensive game right now, and I know the few times we were on the court together she was crushing balls out of the back row.
As for me, I'm feeling pretty good, as well. I got to take a much needed afternoon nap before the final session tonight, and it definitely paid off! I felt refreshed and ready to go at it again.
Tomorrow is the final session for all of us. I'm sad that it almost over already, but tomorrow will be a ton of fun! While we have been playing for the majority of all of the sessions, all of the 6-on-6 has been wash games. Tomorrow, though, we all get split up into teams for a full-on, round-robin style tournament. All of the hard work we've been putting in the last day and a half will have paid off, and we will get to put all of the pieces together.
So stay tuned for my final entry tomorrow as the Hoosiers wrap up our adventure in Colorado Springs, CO! See you soon, B-Town!
- Victoria Brisack
March 3, 2017:
Hello from Colorado Springs, CO!! Today was a very long day filled with traveling, just a smidgen of stress and panic, and a very fun two hours of volleyball.
It all began at 6:30 this morning - or at least it was supposed to, but yours truly had some alarm troubles - when we left Bloomington, IN, and headed for the Indianapolis International Airport. Our flight into Denver, while long, went quite smoothly and painlessly. The stress began to kick in after that. We were schedule to depart Denver and arrive in Colorado Springs by 12:45, which was already pushing our luck since we were all in the 2pm wave. However, a little mechanical issue with our plane's landing gear made sure that we would be pushing our arrival time even more. We ended up landing in Colorado Springs at about 1:15 with very little chance of grabbing our luggage, taking the 20 minute shuttle ride, checking in, and making our session by 2pm. However, after some quick communication with Coach Koncir and USA Volleyball, the stress was released as we were moved to the 6pm group.
Upon arrival at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Facility, there were views to be admired everywhere, delicious food to be eaten in the kitchen, and a seemingly endless amount of potential gifts and gear to be bought at the gift shop.
By 5pm, Liz, Ally, Deyshia, and I were ready to get to the gym and start playing some volleyball. The session began with numerous introductions from college coaches and USAV coaches from around the country. We then heard a few wise words from our Women's National Team coach, Mr. Karch Kiraly, the most important of them probably being to hydrate, hydrate, HYDRATE! Then, it was time for the volleyball to start!
We began with some simple serve receive drills before moving into hitting lines, and then ending with a lot of playing. The competition was awesome and at a very high level, but the Hoosiers still thrived! Ally was blowing people off the court with her jump top spin, Deyshia and Liz were crushing balls at people's feet and Liz even got to play some defense (which she killed)!
All in all, it was a VERY fun and interesting day for the Hoosiers, and we can't wait to share more of it with you tomorrow!
-Victoria Brisack
March 2, 2017
Hi everyone! My name is Victoria Brisack, and I am a freshman setter on the IU volleyball team from Madison, WI. This weekend, three of my teammates and I will be traveling to beautiful Colorado Springs, CO, for the opportunity to try out for several different teams within the USA Volleyball pipeline. These teams include: the USA Women's National Team, three different Collegiate National teams (One of which will be competing in Thailand, another in Europe, and the final will be staying in the States to compete in an international tournament held in Minneapolis, MN), and, for us younger girls, the USA Women's Junior National Team.
I was fortunate enough to attend this tryout last year, during my first semester of college here, at IU. The experience was awesome, and it taught me so much about myself as a person and a volleyball player! I can't wait to go back this weekend and share the experience with a few of my amazing teammates and all of you!
So, stay tuned over the next few days for updates, photos, and videos as Elizabeth Asdell, Ally Badowski, Deyshia Lofton, and I take on USA Volleyball!