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Aug. 12, 2009

A few days into the 2009 Texas Volleyball training camp, head coach Jerritt Elliott and his team shared their thoughts on camp so far and their expectations for the season.

Head coach Jerritt Elliott
On training camp: This is the first time that we have ever been away from campus for our camp. St. Stephens has been very cordial in inviting us onto their campus and they have made us feel very welcome. This setup is very nice for our girls because we don’t have a lot of distractions. Things have been very easy and the facilities have been fantastic. This is something different for us and I think it will do a lot to prepare us for the season when we are on the road. We open the season on a big road trip and we won’t have the luxury of hosting an NCAA Regional this season. This prepares us and breaks the daily monotony. 

On the team’s progress: I am very pleased with the way the team has come back in terms of their physical conditioning. Our strength coach and trainers have done an excellent job preparing them. The players stayed here all summer long and made a commitment to taking the next step this season. Now we are working to get them back, getting their ball touches and getting into the rhythm of the game. We are throwing a few new wrinkles in there with a couple of new players and we are improving on a daily basis.

Senior All-America opposite hitter Ashley Engle
On her summer: I had a great summer, staying in Austin for the first time in my career. Everyone stayed in town and we had a great time training together and getting a couple of summer school classes under our belts. I think it was a good time for us to enjoy each other and take advantage of all that Austin has to offer.

On the upcoming season: I am very excited for the season. We had a very long spring with our trip to Europe and we extended that into the summer with more workouts. We really only had a couple of weeks to go home and now we are ready to get going, start playing some games and keep improving every day.

On expectations for this season: Expectations are always high at Texas. It is the expectations of each another and of our team that we value. The outside distractions and expectations don’t do anything for us. We just have to get in the gym, train and work hard so we can exceed those expectations.

Junior All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette
On the summer with the team together: This summer was awesome. Having the whole team here training together and going to summer school was a great experience for all of us. We have been anxious for this moment for a long time and we are really excited to be back together on the court and having good workouts.

On the off-campus training camp: We are on a different campus, a different gym and we are staying in the dorms here together. This allows us to get away from everything and minimize distractions during two-a-days. Everything here is very nice and everything is provided for us. We have great managers and athletic trainers who are doing a good job of taking care of us. This whole experience is fun because it is so different than anything we have ever done before.

On the team’s goals: Every year that I have been here we have gotten so much closer to attaining our ultimate goal of winning the national championship. I think the standard is a lot higher this year than it was last season. The focus for us is day-to-day. We have our goal at the end of the season, but we know that we need to come in and work hard each and every day in order to achieve that goal.

Senior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker
On training camp: At first I was surprised that we were moving camp off of our campus, but I really like being out here away from everything. It is nice for all of us to get to spend time together and focus on improving each day.

On the team’s goals: Right now we just want to work hard, but of course our ultimate goal is to win the championship. This is my last year and it would be great to go out on top.

On the offseason: I wrapped up track earlier this summer and after finishing that season I started lifting weights. Now I am getting my first volleyball action in awhile, so I am a little sore. I’m hoping that in the next two days the soreness will wear off and I will be good to go.