My name is Caroline Darracott, a senior Student-Athlete here at Troy University. I play Volleyball here at Troy and have been a member of the team since I was a freshman. I found my passion for Volleyball when I was about 10 years old. I was originally committed to Virginia Tech to play when I was a sophomore in high school, but then realized it was not the fit for me. I later decided to commit to Troy my senior year of high school. It was the best decision I ever made.
Being a Troy Student-Athlete has been nothing short of amazing. Troy has so many great resources to help you be successful on the court and in the classroom. These great resources have led me to have a GPA of 3.6 and overall a great academic experience. The amazing athletic resources have allowed me to have a successful four years on the court and they have also allowed me to stay healthy throughout my time here.
My blog will simply be about every aspect of being a Student-Athlete at the Division 1 level. It will also take a look inside of the Troy Volleyball team and all the aspects that are involved in being successful Student-Athletes and teammates. I want to show the readers of my blog how to become successful on the court and in the classroom. My blog will consists of video interviews, day in the lives of girls on the team, and also advice will be given on how to become a successful student athlete on and off the court. My blog will also consist of our accomplishments and even our tough moments throughout the season.
I chose to write my blog on this topic because I think it will help guide Student-Athletes but also be interesting to volleyball fans. I am excited to write about my experiences and my teammates experiences being a Troy University Student-Athlete. I want to share my successes and triumphs with you guys. I want everyone who reads this blog to see how great of an environment Troy Volleyball presents. To be able to share the fun moments and experiences of the 2024 Volleyball season will be a win in my book.
As a Student Athlete my life tends to always be on a schedule and calendar. As a day in my life days can be different but for the most part they are all relatively the same. I start my day off everyday by waking up and tending to my dog. My dog is a Boykin Spaniel and his name is Beau. I feed him, let him out, and play with him the the mornings. After that is done I get dressed for my classes. I get dressed, make me coffee, and head out the door for my 10AM.
Lucky for me, I only have class on Monday, Wednesday’s, and Fridays. I have a 10 and a 12 on those days with no class on Tuesdays or Thursdays. In between my 10 and 12 I usually go to TC and grab me some lunch. After my 12 I go straight home and let Beau out and play with him. If I have time I will usually knock out some homework in between our workouts. Our workout time is 2PM on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays.
Our workouts usually consists of some type of power lifting and body weight stuff. Our workouts are not too difficult but they will definitely put you in shape. After our team workout we will immediately after head to the arena for our practice that starts at 3:30. Some days the times of practice will vary but usually it is around 3:30. Our practices usually range from 2-3 hours a day. Our practice schedule depends on how many games we play that week.
After practice I will either stop and grab me something to eat or come home and make something. I do like to cook but when I am exhausted from the day I will likely just swing by a fast food place and grab me something. After eating I will shower and do my nightly routine. After doing my nightly routine, I feed Beau again and let him out. Then I will get in the bed and work on school work if I have any that day.
The best part of my days are crawling in the bed at night. I will get in the bed and turn on Netflix or Hulu and watch something to help me fall asleep. After about an hour of TV I am ready to cut the lights off and go to sleep. Then I will wakeup and repeat the same thing the next day!
Week #4 full of Victories!
In the fourth week of Troy Trojans Volleyball, I can confidently say it was a great week. On Tuesday September 10, the team traveled to Montgomery to play Alabama State. When arriving at ASU, I had a feeling that it was going to be a great night for the team. We served very well as a team and the defensive efforts were terrific all night.We played a terrific game and swept ASU in 3 sets, all sets keeping them under 20 points. We played very well as a team and it was a great start to the week.
On Thursday September 12, we played The Citadel at home. This team is a great team who wins 30 plus games in their regular season so we prepared hard for this team. This was also another game where I had a great feeling and could taste the dub. This game we also beat Citadel in 3 sets which is a great accomplishment. We swept this team because we played great offensively. We also had one of our best serving nights of the season yet. This was another great win in the books.
Last but not least on Saturday September 14th we played Kennesaw State at home. I knew that this team was going to be a consistent team. I ended up being right we won the first set and they came back and won the second. I got a little worried just because they beat us pretty good in the second set. Luckily we did not let that get to us and we ended up coming back and winning sets 3 and 4. We played well and fought through fatigue from our other games. I was very proud of us and our win that night.
Overall I was very proud of how we prepared for these teams. We practiced hard on the days we did not play. I will say playing 3 games in 6 days is a lot on the body. I was proud of our composure and competitiveness all week. Winning all 3 games in 6 days is not something that is necessarily easy to do. This week was a great week for Troy Volleyball, 3 wins in one week is a great start before conference hits next week!
Out of the spotlight: Practice edition
Many people wonder what a D1 Volleyball practice schedule looks like. I am here to confirm that it is all day everyday on the days that we do not have a game. A normal practice day can differ on certain days but my craziest practice days are on Mondays. We practice so late on Mondays because a few of the girls on the team have labs until 5 in the afternoon. Our schedule is set up like this so that we have plenty of time to get ourselves prepared for practice.
Our Mondays are usually slam packed with class, lifts, and practice. On Mondays we work out at 2PM and then have practice from 6-9PM. We come into the gym, we get all of our volleyball gear on. Then we will get our ankles taped and do whatever needs to be done to our bodies treatment wise in the training room. People usually get massaged out or cupped and that is the most common thing that happens in our training room. If some girls have injuries they could be in there for up to 2 hours getting recovery. Recovery time is a crucial part in being a D1 athlete and staying healthy throughout the season.
After everyone gets done in the training room we will head to the film room at 6. This is where we watch film on us from the previous weekend. We talk about what needs to be worked on and what we did well over the weekend. Usually around 6:30 is when we will start our actual practice. We warm up and start with our position focused drills for that week. We usually have breakout sessions and this is where different positions will work on their specific thing for the week.
After breaking out in our position groups we will set up one net and scrimmage. Our 6 on 6 scrimmage usually lasts about an hour. After we are done with our scrimmaging we will stretch and we are allowed to stay after if we want to work on anything specific. If you do not choose to work on anything we take a 7 minute ice bath after practice. We usually get out of the gym around 9:00 to turn around and do it the next day!
The Wisconsin Invitational Tournament
This past weekend we traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to play the University of Wisconsin. Yes, the University of Wisconsin Badgers who’s volleyball team is ranked #6 in the U.S. We began by waking up at 5:30AM and loaded the buses to head for the Atlanta airport. Our flight out of Atlanta was at 10:30AM and we landed in Milwaukee at 1PM.
Once we got to the Milwaukee airport we got our bags from baggage claim and hopped on the charter bus. We headed to Madison, Wisconsin, where the University of Wisconsin is located. We arrived in Madison and immediately had our practice that evening. After our practice we arrived at the hotel, showered, and went to bed.
The next morning we had breakfast and headed over to the arena for a small practice before we played Wisconsin that evening. Then we came back to the hotel for a little bit of down time. Fast forward to 7PM that Friday night where we play the University of Wisconsin at their home in front of 7,000 people. Yes, I said that correctly, 7,000 people. I can confidently say it was my wildest experience as a volleyball player. We unfortunately lost in 3 sets to Wisconsin but we played our hearts out.
After a tough loss we started our Saturday by practicing that morning. After practice we headed to one of my teammates’ home town, where her family prepared lunch for us. This was such a treat to be able to see where she grew up and to have a yummy lunch. After lunch we headed back to Madison to watch the Wisconsin and Texas A&M match. Wisconsin ended up beating Texas A&M in 3 sets.
Waking up on Sunday we were ready for our next opponent who was Texas A&M. We played them at 1PM. We arrived at the facility, got ready and started the match off to a very good start. We took the first set off of Texas A&M but they ended up coming back and winning the last three. We fought hard and long but it was not in our favor this past weekend. We drove back to Milwaukee for our 6PM flight and arrived back in Troy at 1:30AM that night. We learned a lot about our team during this tournament and we played against great opponents ending our preseason being 5-5.
Next up we have conference play, which is where it counts the most!
The Rules of the Game!
For this post I am going to be introducing all of the fundamental rules in a Volleyball game. I can confirm that some of these rules can be tricky and hard to understand at first. As most people know Volleyball is a game that consists of 6 players on each side of the net. You try to score a point by hitting the ball on the ground on the other side of the net.
Like I previously said you have 2 sides of the court where each side has 6 players and each side is allowed 6 substitutes. Each team is allowed to hit the ball up to 3 times before the ball must be returned. You are allowed to hit the ball under 3 times but not over 3 before it being returned. Another important rule is that players are not allowed to hit the ball twice in succession which means you cannot contact the ball twice back to back.
Another important rule of the game is that sets are played to 25 points. In college it is best 3 out of 5 sets wins the game. If you take a team to 5 sets, the last set goes to 15 points and you have to win each set by 2 points. So the score cannot be 26-25 it would have to be 27-25 or 17-15 in the fifth set. I think that this rule tends to confuse people just because of the fifth set going to 15 instead of 25.
A rule that tends to be tricky sometimes is when a ball is considered in or out. So the court is surrounded by a line that determines if the ball is in or out. If the ball touches ANY part of the line it is considered in. If the ball does not touch any part of the line it is out. Now in college volleyball there are cameras that are set up on each line to allow a closer look if the line judge does not catch the call quick enough. If a line judge is unsure if the ball is in or not the ref can go back and watch that play on camera and gather a better understanding.
A rule that used to be a basic but now has changed is called a double. In Volleyball if you contacted the ball with your hands and the ball spun in several different directions that would be called a double. Now in college volleyball doubles are allowed but only on your side of the net, you cannot send the ball over the net while doubling it.
I hope that these rules give you a better understanding of how the game of Volleyball is played. Some rules may be confusing but the more you research the more you will understand!
Day In the life of 5th Year Senior Tori Hester
A normal day in the life for Tori Hester is a little bit different than the rest of the team members. Tori is a 5th year senior who is taking her Masters Program online now, so she does not have to attend any in person classes or courses, how nice is that! Tori is a 5th year because she has an extra year of eligibility due to Covid-19 and she has been here ever since her freshman year. She expresses how much she enjoys getting her masters while also being an Athlete.
A normal day in her life is that she will wake up around 8AM and begin working on school work. Sometimes she will go to Starbucks or other quiet areas to knock out the homework that she has for the week. After she does her homework for the day she will go grab some lunch. After grabbing lunch she will either go back home or go get treatment. It is important for her to get treatment due to her being one of our most valued players. She makes sure to have a daily routine of how and when she gets her treatment done.
Tori leads the SunBelt conference in kills right now and has gotten All SunBelt preseason and all has been named Offensive player of the week for the SunBelt. She has been named Offensive player of week several times in her career at Troy. Leading the SunBelt in kills is such a big accomplishment. Needless to say she is a great player and her treatment and recovery is crucial. After getting her treatment we all meet for weights and then have practice following weights. Practice can range from an hour and a half to three hours just depending on the day. After our practices she usually gets ice to recover and then goes to grab something to eat.
When she gets home she will eat and shower and continue her nightly routine. She also will do her nightly skin care routine along with all the girly things that come with that. One of the most important routines that she will never skip at night is watching her Greys Anatomy, lol. After her nightly binge watching she is ready for bed and she will repeat it all again tomorrow!
Q & A with Casey Cepicky!
For this post I chose to Interview Troy Volleyballs Graduate Assistant Coach, Casey Cepicky. Casey is from St. Louis, Missouri and she played volleyball at Southern Indiana University in 2017-2021. This will be her third season as the graduate assistant at Troy and leads setter technique training while assisting in other areas like offense and blocking. I have asked her a few questions and this was her response to those questions.
What has your experience been like being a Graduate Assistant for Troy Volleyball?
“It has been great! It was a little overwhelming at first, understanding the operations side of everything as well as buying into training tactics and techniques. As this is my first coaching position, I am grateful to work with such an amazing staff and group of girls every day.”
What does a normal day in your life look like?
“My normal day consists of operational duties in the morning. I call restaurants, email hotels, and charter companies and make itineraries for our away matches. After lunch I make plans for whatever positional sessions I have that day, then give the lesson before practice at 3:30. Practice normally ends around 5:30 then I finish up any other operational tasks I could not get done during the day. I normally get home anywhere between 7-8 each night.”
What is your favorite part about being a Grad Assistant for Troy Volleyball?
“My favorite part about being a grad assistant is being able to coach and give individual sessions. I always loved giving lessons when I worked in club volleyball. I like working with players who want to get better and watching them achieve that goal over time. It is also fun being one on one because I can get to know them better. Relationships are what I value most, especially in coaching!”
What is the most difficult part about being a Graduate Assistant?
“The most difficult thing about being a GA is that you technically have a full time job, but you also have to complete your masters. It was very overwhelming at times trying to figure out what to prioritize. Now that I am done with it, it was not too bad, it just took a little time to figure out the balance.”
With all of that being said, I can confidently say that Casey is one of the hardest most dedicated people I know. The Troy Volleyball family is so thankful for what all she does for us. It does not go unnoticed how much effort and time she puts into our team. I really enjoyed getting to interview her and get to know her a little bit more!
Building Power & Agility: Volleyball Edition
Most might not think this but working out and lifting weights is a huge part of being successful as a volleyball player. It is very important that your front row players are strong and it is just as important that your back row players are strong but also have speed. Agility is a crucial part in being successful on the volleyball court. My favorite part of working out is definitely the speed and agility work that we do because I can see the improvement on the court quickly.
Our workout schedule definitely differs on our season and in our off season. In the summer Volleyball and Football are the only 2 sports that are here all summer, from start to end. In the summer we workout everyday Monday-Friday. On Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays we lift weights and do more body weight movements. On Tuesdays and Thursdays are our speed and agility days. I will say that summer is my favorite workout schedule but it is the most challenging.
In the fall which is our season, our workout schedule definitely differs. We only workout on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays but this season we play a lot of Thursday, Friday games. In saying that if we play on a Thursday and Friday and we travel we will leave on Wednesday, so for that week we only will workout on Monday. If we play a home game that is Thursday, Friday we still will not workout on Wednesday because we do not want to be sore for our game. If we play a Friday Saturday game and travel on Thursday we will workout on that Wednesday. It is hard to get our lift days in during season just because of our play schedule.
In the spring we will workout everyday like the summer. We usually have the same workout schedule as the summer but we begin to lift heavier. We lift heavier amounts of weights and our speed and agility workouts get harder. In the spring we also max which means they collect numbers and see if we have gotten stronger or not over time. This is our time to get stronger and faster though. This is definitely the most challenging workout schedule because you are managing class and also finding time to practice too. The spring is the most challenging but you will definitely see results a lot quicker than any other time of the year.
Serving some Top Spin!
For this blog post which is number 10, I chose to do my demonstration video and blog post on a top spin serve. This post will include a demonstration on how to perform a top spin serve. For the demonstration I chose to interview my teammate Olivia Kwiatkowski who is a freshman outside hitter. In the demonstration video she will walk us through how to successfully perform a top spin serve.
There are 2 main serves in Volleyball. The first common serve is a float serve. This is where you serve the ball and the ball has no spin to it and it floats in many directions while still in the air. A float serve is the hardest serve to receive in my opinion but it is the most common especially in college volleyball. The next serve is a top spin serve. This serve is easier to receive but it comes much faster at you than a float serve. Olivia tends to serve the ball around 48MPH when she does her top spin serve.
With a float and top spin serve you can stand on the ground or you can jump serve. The most common in college volleyball for both serves is a jump float or jump top spin. This is where you are tossing the ball and taking an approach into the serve. Jump serving is definitely much tougher but it is harder for the other team to receive it.
A jump top spin serve is most certainly the hardest serve to learn. Your timing and approach has to almost be perfect. It is the most successful serve when it comes to scoring points but it takes a lot of practice to get it down. I hope you enjoy the demonstration that Olivia is going to give you all!
Fueling your body as a D1 Volleyball Player
Being able to fuel your body as a D1 Student-Athlete is one of the most crucial aspects in becoming a successful athlete. Many think that in order to be a successful athlete it is just based on your preparation and performance. What some people do not know is that in order to prepare and perform at a high level you have to fuel your body appropriately and be hydrated. Fueling your body properly allows more room for you to push yourself further and further every single day.
I have seen first hand that some athletes are not satisfied with their body image and so they cut back on eating and fueling themselves with the right things. When this happens this allows more room for injuries and sickness to appear quicker. It is important for all Student- Athletes to know the importance of fueling your body over what your body looks like. I have unfortunately seen one of my teammates who did not eat properly go down hill very quickly just because she did not like how much she weighed. She began to have many more complications and injuries appear over time.
As any high level athlete, it is crucial to get an appropriate amount of proteins, carbs, and fats throughout your athletic career. Volleyball is a quick and explosive sport. If you do not fuel your body properly you will have no energy to get the ball over the net. Much less serve, spike, or dig the ball in a match. Fueling your body is an underlying factor that is crucial in your success as an athlete but especially a volleyball player. Please click here to see all of the friendly foods specifically for Volleyball players.
D1 Volleyball players tend to need a high carbohydrate diet. This can include veggies, pastas, and even breads. It is important for Volleyball players to get a good mixture of carbs, fats, and proteins. There are plenty of easy meals you can make that will prepare you for your best performance. Click here to see some examples and recipes fit for you.
As a Student-Athlete fueling your body is the most critical thing when it comes to staying healthy physically and mentally. Eating healthy improves your mental health as well. I cannot express enough the importance of feeding your body, especially as a Student-Athlete.
How we prepare for a weekend of play
Preparing to play on the weekend is something that is crucial to our success as a team. Not only do we have to prepare ourselves, but we have to prepare for our specific opponent that week. We play a different team each week in conference. Preparing to play in conference is a lot easier than preparing to play in pre-season. It is easier because in conference you will play the same team on the weekend as in pre season you will play different teams in one weekend.
When preparing to play a team on the weekend our routine tends to stay the same. We have film about two days before we play and we scout the team we will be playing. We will meet in the film room and go over their rotations and hitting tendencies. We usually go rotation by rotation and take notes on what we need to focus on for the weekend. What is really helpful when preparing for our opponent is that our coaches will give us a sheet of paper that tells us what plays they usually run in certain rotations. The sheet of paper will also have where the hitters swing the most, and it shows us their weaknesses.
When preparing for the weekend the cheat sheet that is given to us really helps us out. It gives us specific things that we need to look for regarding the other team and it also allows us to pinpoint their weaknesses. After we watch film and go through the whole process we will go into practice and when we scrimmage in practice one side will set up similarly like our opponent. That being said the one side will run similar plays and routes like we are scouting for. This process is very helpful for us because it is hands-on preparation.
Preparing for our opponent that week can be challenging but our coaches and staff definitely make it easier on us. It is crucial for our success as a team to prepare well for our opponent. If we do know scout well or know the scout there is a slim chance for success for our team. If you do not know your scout when preparing to play, you cannot expect a win at the end of the night.
Do D1 Volleyball players really need to be good at all skills?
There is a common question that is asked when talking about being recruited for a D1 Volleyball team. The common question is “Do I need to be good at all skills that involve Volleyball”? The answer to that question is a simple yes. In order to be recruited at the Division 1 level, you need to be good at all skills, you do not have to be great at all of them but you have to be good in order to get recruited at the D1 level.
The common skills needed are passing, setting, attacking, and serving. Most importantly though is ball control. It does not matter what position you play in Volleyball you have to be consistent and have excellent ball control. Many think in order to be recruited at a high level you just have to be great at one skill and they are wrong. College coaches look for a lot of specific things when it comes to recruiting. They mainly look at how well you work with your team but also if you are producing in your specific position. Click the link here to see what college coaches look a specifically when recruiting.
It is important to be good at many skills in volleyball. I say this from personal experience because I am a Defensive Specialist. That being said I serve, dig, pass, and out of system set balls. A fun fact is that when I played club volleyball at 12 years old I was an outside hitter and when I was 15 I changed to a defensive specialist because I was too small to go D1 to be a hitter. It is crucial to be good at other skills because in D1 Volleyball it requires you no matter the position to perform various skills at different times. If you are only great at one skill you will not be successful at the D1 level.
The list of things I have found while researching this is pretty accurate. The main skills you have to be good at are blocking, digging, passing, serving, setting, and spiking (hitting). I have attached a link here, that provides more in depth discussion on why you need that skill to be successful and why it is crucial to have for the teams success.
Our Game Day Preparation
When talking about our game day preparation it usually is pretty consistent throughout the year. Specifically for this blog post I would like to talk about our game day preparation for away games. I say that only because I am sitting in a hotel room right now doing this before we play Arkansas State tonight. Our game day preparation is a different routine than when we play at home. I say that because when we play at home we have to go to classes and when we play away usually most of our day is spent in a hotel room.
On the mornings we play we get up around 9ish and have breakfast in the hotel. We eat breakfast and then we will have a little bit of down time in between breakfast and when we go over to have our one hour serve and pass time. At this time it is usually around lunch and it only lasts about an hour. Our serving pass time usually consists of us getting our bodies moving and waking our legs up. We will run drills and even scrimmage against each other for a little bit. After we finish our serve and pass people will get ice or get treatment for any injuries or for preventative purposes.
After the serve and pass is over, we come back to the hotel for lunch and down time. After our down time we get our pre game meal before we head over to the gym around 4 if we have a 6:00 match. We get to the gym, get taped and get individually prepared to play. It is crucial that people have their own routine to get them prepared to play. One crucial aspect in being successful at a high level is having a consistent routine that works for you. Click here to see how you can manage a day in life and a good routine as a Division 1 athlete.
Once you have your pre game routine we will all go out and warm up as a team about 45 minutes before the game starts. We will all perform our warm up and then once the time is up we will begin the game. Hopefully looking to bring a win home!
The Volleyball Photo Story
The two items are one of the most crucial parts of being a Volleyball player. These are the most cherished items that a player could have and no player in college could be successful without these items in their possession.
This is Addi Kersting, a sophomore setter, finishing putting on her ankle braces before she slides on her kneepads and shoes. Ankle braces are very important to a players safety but not everyone wears them, just people who play front row.
Now that she has finished putting on her ankle braces, Addi is now putting on her knee pads. After pulling up her knee pads she is ready to put her court shoes on!
This is an image of our beautiful new shoes we got this season!
She is now ready and prepared to start lacing them up. This is the important part. You do not want to have your shoes too tight especially when wearing ankle braces because they can rub a blister on your feet. You also do not want them to be too loose to where your ankle has a lot of room move around. Players have to be extra careful when preparing their shoes to play.
This is the final setup for Addi! It is important for people to know that our equipment allows our success on the court. Most people do not realize that wearing knee pads allows us the freedom to dive and slide to make digs. Our shoes allows us the freedom to jump without having to worry about an ankle injury. I hope you all enjoy this blog post!
Bump, Set, Spike Trojans 