First a thank you to Coach for taking the time to answer a few questions.
ISU has a 14th nationally ranked volleyball team and plays Kansas this Saturday. Coming off a great road win against Oklahoma, the program is currently in the top 3 of the Big 12 with home games against the top two in the horizon.
1) How are the new facilities in Hilton helping the coaches with practices/recruiting?
Coach: Having offices and a team room in Hilton has been tremendous for our staff. It is much easier to watch video or have meetings with our players since they can drop in right before practice. We can now just walk out onto our practice floor instead of driving over from Jake (not that it was a long drive, but seemed like once a week I would forget something!). We just feel more efficient and see our players more often during the day. Recruits have also been really impressed by our offices. When a recruit walks into our area, they get the feeling volleyball is important at Iowa State.
2) Has the new student section increased the atmosphere for games?
Coach: We are one of very few schools that have a good student section at volleyball matches. The Cyd-Out Crew has made Hilton an even better place to play. It's awesome to have students courtside. They are loud and into the game, it puts pressure on our opponents and makes for a great atmosphere.
3)For those Cyclones that aren't big into volleyball, how do you 'sell' your team to get them to come out and see a game?
Coach: If you have never been to a volleyball match, you need to give it a try. First, it is a very fast paced game. A point is scored now on every serve, and the games go quickly, so it's pretty exciting to watch. The athletes are some of the best female athletes in the country - we're talking women who can jump touch 10'2 and higher and are very physical. I also like to think our players work really hard and are fun to watch.
4) Being undefeated in Hilton, how big a factor is home court?
Coach: The Big 12 is such a tough volleyball conference, wins at home are incredibly important. It's tough to go into an opponent's arena and not only deal with a different floor and different lighting, etc, but you also have to deal with crowd noise and the pressure playing in front of a hostile crowd puts on you. When I first arrived at Iowa State, I didn't feel we had much of a home court advantage because our crowds weren't very big and they certainly weren't loud. I believe Hilton is becoming one of the best places in the country to watch a volleyball game.
5) How does being in the top 20 nationally for attendance help the team/ recruiting?
Coach: When a recruit watches a match in Hilton along with 3,000 other fans, she sees how well supported and important volleyball is at Iowa State. It allows us to win some recruiting battles that we might not normally win. Our players love playing in front of big crowds, it's much more fun that way. It's an amazing feeling to look up and see thousands of people in the stands and know that they are there to support for and cheer for you.
We are trying to break our attendance record in our upcoming match against Nebraska on Sat, Nov. 7 at 6:30 pm. The current state of Iowa record is 6,700 - we would love to see Cyclone fans come out in droves for that match, should be a good one!
Go Cyclones!
ISU has a 14th nationally ranked volleyball team and plays Kansas this Saturday. Coming off a great road win against Oklahoma, the program is currently in the top 3 of the Big 12 with home games against the top two in the horizon.
1) How are the new facilities in Hilton helping the coaches with practices/recruiting?
Coach: Having offices and a team room in Hilton has been tremendous for our staff. It is much easier to watch video or have meetings with our players since they can drop in right before practice. We can now just walk out onto our practice floor instead of driving over from Jake (not that it was a long drive, but seemed like once a week I would forget something!). We just feel more efficient and see our players more often during the day. Recruits have also been really impressed by our offices. When a recruit walks into our area, they get the feeling volleyball is important at Iowa State.
2) Has the new student section increased the atmosphere for games?
Coach: We are one of very few schools that have a good student section at volleyball matches. The Cyd-Out Crew has made Hilton an even better place to play. It's awesome to have students courtside. They are loud and into the game, it puts pressure on our opponents and makes for a great atmosphere.
3)For those Cyclones that aren't big into volleyball, how do you 'sell' your team to get them to come out and see a game?
Coach: If you have never been to a volleyball match, you need to give it a try. First, it is a very fast paced game. A point is scored now on every serve, and the games go quickly, so it's pretty exciting to watch. The athletes are some of the best female athletes in the country - we're talking women who can jump touch 10'2 and higher and are very physical. I also like to think our players work really hard and are fun to watch.
4) Being undefeated in Hilton, how big a factor is home court?
Coach: The Big 12 is such a tough volleyball conference, wins at home are incredibly important. It's tough to go into an opponent's arena and not only deal with a different floor and different lighting, etc, but you also have to deal with crowd noise and the pressure playing in front of a hostile crowd puts on you. When I first arrived at Iowa State, I didn't feel we had much of a home court advantage because our crowds weren't very big and they certainly weren't loud. I believe Hilton is becoming one of the best places in the country to watch a volleyball game.
5) How does being in the top 20 nationally for attendance help the team/ recruiting?
Coach: When a recruit watches a match in Hilton along with 3,000 other fans, she sees how well supported and important volleyball is at Iowa State. It allows us to win some recruiting battles that we might not normally win. Our players love playing in front of big crowds, it's much more fun that way. It's an amazing feeling to look up and see thousands of people in the stands and know that they are there to support for and cheer for you.
We are trying to break our attendance record in our upcoming match against Nebraska on Sat, Nov. 7 at 6:30 pm. The current state of Iowa record is 6,700 - we would love to see Cyclone fans come out in droves for that match, should be a good one!
Go Cyclones!
