Colorado University Athletics
Volleyball Excited To Get Season Underway
August 05, 2016 | Volleyball
Volleyball Excited To Get Season Underway
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BOULDER - In his first season at the University of Colorado, volleyball coach Jesse Mahoney addressed the media at CU's annual fall sports media day on Friday, previewing the upcoming 2016 season.
Mahoney was joined by senior defensive specialist/libero Cierra Simpson, junior setter/opposite hitter Gabby Simpson and junior outside hitter Joslyn Hayes.
After an offseason of growth and adjustment, Mahoney voiced his excitement about getting into the gym and establishing goals for the 2016 season.
"No one starts coaching to sit behind a desk, so it will be nice to get on the court and start to train," Mahoney said. "The team knows that they're very good. The coaching staff knows that they're very good. We have a lot of optimism for what we're going to accomplish this year but we haven't put anything on paper yet because the team is going to be a large part of what that looks like."
The Buffs kick off their season with a tough non-conference schedule including matches against Penn State, Illinois and in-state rival, Colorado State. Cierra Simpson, one of two team captains, is excited about that challenge.
"Playing these great teams in non-conference is huge because Pac-12 play is a dog fight every single night," Simpson said.
The Buffs will make their first showing of the season in a scrimmage on August 20 at Coors Events Center at 3 p.m. The team's home schedule at the CEC kicks off on Saturday, September 3 in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge in a match against Penn State.
Single match tickets for most contests start at just $5 for general admission and $8 for reserved seating. Tickets for the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge (Sept. 3-4), as well as the second day of the Omni Invitational (Sept. 17), will start at $8 for general admission and $12 for reserved seats. Kids 12 and under are still free.
Season tickets are also available and start at just $25 for general admission, while reserved seats are $40. Fans can purchase single match and season tickets online at CUBuffs.com or by calling 303-49-BUFFS.
Fans can also purchase the Women's Sports Pass supports women's basketball, soccer and volleyball. For just $125, over 50 percent off the single game box office price for those three sports, the Women's Sports Pass allows for seating in general admission areas at each venue for three of the most successful programs at CU. Once you purchase the pass, you will be mailed season tickets for all three sports.
A complete transcript from the press conference is below.
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
General
"It's a little bit of the calm before the storm right now. We start Monday morning with all of our mandatory meetings and then we're on the court Tuesday. We do two-a-days all the way through until August 20. It'll be an interesting camp because we have a lot of new faces. We only lost two starters but we added quite a bit. We'll have 18 players on the roster to start. We'll have a lot of players to work out and we'll hopefully get a lot of questions answered.
We're really excited about our non-conference schedule. We open up on the road at Portland State. We get to play a couple of good teams there, Long Beach State being one of them. Then we come back for Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge where we open up with Penn State as our home opener on September 3. We'll also play Colorado State at home this year which will be fun for us. On top of that, we have the Pac-12 which everyone knows is a dog fight every night.
We're excited about the team that we return. We only lost two starters which means we have five starters returning and a lot of new faces that we're excited about adding to our talent level. Our overall talent level is going to be very high. We're looking forward to the season."
On the 18 Players On The Roster
"It's more than I've ever had so it is what it is. Part of it is filling holes in our roster where we were short positionally. We had to add a couple of setters and we were a little heavy in some positions. We added some players that we thought could help us win, we're never going to say no because if someone can help us win, then we're going to bring them into the locker room. I think as time goes on, we'll get back to a manageable number but that's the case for this year."
On The Pros And Cons Of Having A Big Team
"We went through the spring with 13 players and the chemistry was great. We've added five new faces (since) but I haven't been around the team yet because we don't start until next week. From what I've heard, I think the players are getting along really well. As we go through fall camp, there's 18 players and only so many can play, so I think it's going to be competitive from day one. If we turn that the right way, I think that's a really good thing. I think as we settle into the preseason and people start to define their roles, whatever that is, starter, someone who comes off the bench, or someone who's helping us in practice, we have to make sure we're getting everyone on board with what they can help us do to be successful. That's my job and my staff's job and our captain's jobs as well."
On Preseason Goals
"I think the process never ends, so we want to get better every day. With that being said, I think the group in the fall did a really good job of being open-minded. I think they were excited to learn. Anything that we ask them to do, we present them with a 'why.' If you can understand why you're doing something, you're going to be more likely to try to do those things. We're just trying to find a way to be more efficient, more efficient offensively, defensively. We want to define some things a little bit better. Volleyball isn't rocket science so it's not like we can revolutionize something in a couple of months. We laid a template of how we want to be successful and I think the girls bought into that. We were much better at the end of the spring than we were at the beginning of it and I expect us to start the preseason off at that point. We're going to be a much better team than we were at the start of it."
On The Buffs' Tough Non-Conference Schedule
"Our players come here to play the best in the country and the Pac-12 provides us with that night in and night out. I think that where some people might be nervous to play Penn State, Illinois, Colorado State, San Diego, Long Beach, our players are just excited about that. They look at it as an opportunity to make their mark on this year and this program. We're looking forward to that. The non-conference, unfortunately, you want to play really good teams early because we know we're going to play great teams all season. We're going to play Stanford, Washington, UCLA. You can't run and hide from that. You have to play teams like that early or else it's going to be a shock when you see them in the middle of September. On top of that, we want to be the best so we have to play the best. We'll look for opportunities to do that as much as we can."
On His Players Who Played For USA Volleyball Over The Summer
"I think it's a great experience to go to China, to go to Italy, to play with the USA on your back. It's an awesome experience for our players. For our program, we want our culture and the systems that we run and the verbiage that we use to mirror the USA system, so that our players can be seamless when they go to those situations. Everyone that goes there brings back an experience and a competitive edge back into our program which is really exciting. We had four at multiple levels of the USA program this summer which is as many as any other program in the country. Speaking to them, they all had a great experience and are hungry to get back into our gym."
On Getting Back Into The Gym
"No one starts coaching to sit behind a desk so it'll be nice to get on the courts and start to train. You miss that from April until now, so to get back into the gym will be great. I can hear their open gym through the wall in my office, they have some pretty cool music going for sure, but I can't watch or do anything with that so it's a lot of fun.
There's nothing like playing a big time collegiate volleyball match. Getting out there and playing in front of a hostile crowd on the road is always fun. Coming back to Coors Events Center and playing in the friendly confines is always fun as well. At the beginning of the season, it's always fun. You have everyone's attention. We're going to get a lot done in a short amount of time. When we have the success that I think we're going to have, it's going to be a really fun season."
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On Setting Goals This Preseason
"Part of our preseason experience will be to set some individual goals and then as a team, we'll set some team goals. We haven't done that yet. I think we're going to shape that through our preseason. There's a lot of excitement. The team knows that they're very good. The coaching staff knows that they're very good. We have a lot of optimism for what we're going to accomplish this year, but we haven't put anything on paper yet because the team is going to be a large part of what that looks like."
On The Schedule For The Rest Of Fall Camp
"We'll have about a week here at Coors Events Center practicing and then we'll go down to the Olympic Training Center for about another week to train down there, which this team has done the past couple of years. It's always a great experience. Unfortunately we'll be watching the Olympics instead of hanging out with Olympians, but it will still be a lot of fun. It's a good bonding experience for us. On August 20, we have our black and gold scrimmage that will be the unveiling of our new floor in Coors, which looks pretty cool, we're excited for that. That will be the first opportunity we have to play and then we'll go through our pregame rituals and will play four sets. We'll mix up the teams a little bit and by the end we'll have what we think our starting lineup is going to be for the last two sets. Then we'll get ready to go from there."
Cierra Simpson, Senior, Defensive Specialist/Libero
On Missing Out On The NCAA Tournament Last Season
"Obviously it was devastating not making it to the tournament, especially after making it the past two years, but I think the mindset we're coming into with this year as a whole is putting ourselves in a position where we know we're in the tournament, we're not even on the bubble and it's not going to come down to crossing our fingers at the last minute. There are a lot of things we can do early in the season, especially with non-conference matches, to make sure that we aren't in a situation where, like I said, we won't be crossing our fingers or anything like that."
On The Buffs' Tough Non-Conference Schedule
"Along with what Jesse said, playing these great teams in non-conference is huge because the Pac-12 is a dog fight every single night. It is great to play teams that are tough, especially in our Penn State, Illinois weekend when it's two really great teams in a row. As far as CSU goes, I'm definitely excited for that match. Last time we played them, we ended up losing in a heartbreaker, fifth set by two points and that was for a birth for the Sweet 16. I'm definitely looking forward to playing them again, maybe getting some revenge on them."
On Her Experience Playing With The CNT Team
"This is the second summer that I have participated with a collegiate national team and it was a great experience once again. It's really cool to get to go and play with some of the best players and talent in the country; and to see different ways and methods that other coaches have as well. The biggest thing is getting to play with these girls that have some much talent. It raises your expectation for how you can play and along with that, your expectation for how your team can play. The thing that we can both bring back is a different level of leadership into the gym and really holding our teammates to a high expectation."
On The Role Of Upperclassmen
"We only graduated two of our starters so we're returning five. That's a huge thing when you have five people who, for the most part, have played with each other. We know how each other works, each other's tendencies and how to communicate with each other. I think that's huge too. It speaks a lot to experience and how that will serve us this season."
Gabby Simpson, Jr., Setter/Opposite
On Missing Out On The NCAA Tournament Last Season
"I would say that it motivated us. Not making it to the tournament was unfortunate but we're all really excited for this upcoming season because not making it last year was really hard on us."
On Her Experience Playing In Italy Over The Summer
"I played with the USA Collegiate National Team as well except I was in Italy and I also played with the Pac-12 team [in China] and I would say that the experience of playing with girls who have that level of talent, as well and being able to bring that back to the gym, can help yourself and your team as well. Going back into preseason, that'll help out a lot."
On The Role Of Upper Classmen
"I think experience is a huge thing for teams because you could play a team where all of the players are new and haven't really had much experience versus a team that has. Most likely the team that has had that experience will come out on top. For us, that's a positive because we have so many veterans, especially going into the tough non-conference that we have."
Joslyn Hayes, Jr., Outside Hitter
On Missing Out On The NCAA Tournament Last Season
"It was definitely upsetting not making it to the tournament, especially for the seniors. But it's lighting the fire and getting us going into this season. Like Cierra said, we want to be guaranteed a spot in the tournament. We don't want to be on the edge this year, so we're all very pumped up."
On The Buffs' Tough Non-Conference Schedule
"I think it's really important, having a really tough nonconference as well. That's going to help us in the NCAA Tournament as well because it's better to lose to a really good team than beat a not so good team. The ultimate goal is to win and beat those really good teams but it's going to help us in the long term with the tournament."
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On The Role Of Upper Classmen
"Everyone is really stepping up and taking on a bigger role, especially in open gyms and starting off last spring. But, I think that everybody is playing into how last season played out and what we think we can accomplish this season. All of the upper class men are very hungry for this fall. So just taking on a bigger role and expecting a lot more from each other is ultimately going to give us that push."
