North Carolina State University Athletics
Photo by: Greg Mintel
‘Serve and Pass’ with Kaitlyn Kearney
7/17/2017 10:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
With the start of the 2017 NC State Volleyball season rapidly approaching, GoPack.com will be catching up with each member of the team to see how she is spending her summer and how excited she is to start the season. Periodically a Q and A will be posted to the website titled 'Serve and Pass', giving fans an inside look at each player on the squad.
Kaitlyn Kearney
Frisco, Texas
MB
Describe the trip to Italy.
"The trip to Italy was awesome! With the trip, we got to train for a couple weeks before we left and that was great because the freshmen got to train with us, so we could get to know them better and the coaches were also able to be at the practices so it's helped us start to gel much earlier.
"Italy was just amazing. Getting to experience the culture and see everything, it's probably a once in a lifetime experience that most people don't get to do. Getting to do it with this new team that's going to do great things this year was awesome."
What was the best part of the trip?
"The second night we played our first match against a team in Rome and they had dinner with us after the match and it was so much fun. We had the opportunity to ask them questions and Nailah [Gordon] started this hand game and it was just awesome."
Had you ever been to Italy before?
"I had never been, but it was always a place that I wanted to visit. I was so lucky that my parents and my sister were able to come on the trip with me because we've always dreamed of going."
How excited were you when you found out that you would be going to Italy the summer before your senior season?
"We are all super excited to hear about the Italy trip. Bree [Bailey] had been there, so she was telling us all about it and we were so pumped."
What did you do during the flight?
"We all slept and watched maybe about four movies each. When we landed, it was 9 a.m. so we spent the day sightseeing and then practiced later that night. We were exhausted and hit the bed as soon as we got to our rooms."
Other than the Italy trip, have you taken any other vacations or do you have any planned?
"Not really, I just got back from visiting my family at home in Texas. Now I'm back to start lifting with Gabe [Button], our strength and conditioning coach, and to start open gyms."
Back to volleyball, how does it feel to be a senior?
"It's crazy. Time has flown by and I keep telling the freshmen to cherish these moments because it goes by so quickly. It's been such a great experience and it's something that you'll never experience again with the closeness of the team, how much you learn about your team and how much you learn about the game. It's been a great ride and I'm looking forward to great things as a senior."
How excited are you to start the season?
"I'm really excited to start the season, especially with it being my last season, I really want to make it the best we've had in my time here. We're working hard everyday in hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament this year."
How would you describe your career up to this point?
"I've been happy with my career, but I really hope to have my strongest season as a senior. I really want to be a leader on the team because our two seniors are gone from last year, so I just want to step up and help lead this team to the NCAA Tournament."
What are your goals for the team and individually this year?
"We really want to get to the postseason. My goal is to lead my position group with the middle blockers and give each other great feedback. I want to be consistent throughout the season with my hitting and blocking."
Was there anything in particular that you wanted to work on this summer for the season?
"I've really worked on my blocking and my serving."
What do you want to do after graduation? When are you graduating?
"I'm graduating in December and I hope to get an internship in the spring. My major is marketing, so I either want to find an occupation in marketing or go into medical sales."
Kaitlyn Kearney
Frisco, Texas
MB
Describe the trip to Italy.
"The trip to Italy was awesome! With the trip, we got to train for a couple weeks before we left and that was great because the freshmen got to train with us, so we could get to know them better and the coaches were also able to be at the practices so it's helped us start to gel much earlier.
"Italy was just amazing. Getting to experience the culture and see everything, it's probably a once in a lifetime experience that most people don't get to do. Getting to do it with this new team that's going to do great things this year was awesome."
What was the best part of the trip?
"The second night we played our first match against a team in Rome and they had dinner with us after the match and it was so much fun. We had the opportunity to ask them questions and Nailah [Gordon] started this hand game and it was just awesome."
Had you ever been to Italy before?
"I had never been, but it was always a place that I wanted to visit. I was so lucky that my parents and my sister were able to come on the trip with me because we've always dreamed of going."
How excited were you when you found out that you would be going to Italy the summer before your senior season?
"We are all super excited to hear about the Italy trip. Bree [Bailey] had been there, so she was telling us all about it and we were so pumped."
What did you do during the flight?
"We all slept and watched maybe about four movies each. When we landed, it was 9 a.m. so we spent the day sightseeing and then practiced later that night. We were exhausted and hit the bed as soon as we got to our rooms."
Other than the Italy trip, have you taken any other vacations or do you have any planned?
"Not really, I just got back from visiting my family at home in Texas. Now I'm back to start lifting with Gabe [Button], our strength and conditioning coach, and to start open gyms."
Back to volleyball, how does it feel to be a senior?
"It's crazy. Time has flown by and I keep telling the freshmen to cherish these moments because it goes by so quickly. It's been such a great experience and it's something that you'll never experience again with the closeness of the team, how much you learn about your team and how much you learn about the game. It's been a great ride and I'm looking forward to great things as a senior."
How excited are you to start the season?
"I'm really excited to start the season, especially with it being my last season, I really want to make it the best we've had in my time here. We're working hard everyday in hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament this year."
How would you describe your career up to this point?
"I've been happy with my career, but I really hope to have my strongest season as a senior. I really want to be a leader on the team because our two seniors are gone from last year, so I just want to step up and help lead this team to the NCAA Tournament."
What are your goals for the team and individually this year?
"We really want to get to the postseason. My goal is to lead my position group with the middle blockers and give each other great feedback. I want to be consistent throughout the season with my hitting and blocking."
Was there anything in particular that you wanted to work on this summer for the season?
"I've really worked on my blocking and my serving."
What do you want to do after graduation? When are you graduating?
"I'm graduating in December and I hope to get an internship in the spring. My major is marketing, so I either want to find an occupation in marketing or go into medical sales."
Players Mentioned
MB
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