Junior Year

3rd Season At Quincy

Welcome, my name is Courtney Young and I am a Junior here at QU. This is my 3rd season under Coach Rubio and I am an Outside hitter/back up setter. This season has already brought many new experiences. We have a new Graduate Assistant, a new volunteer coach and we brought in many new freshman faces. We were in a new tournament at Columbia College and at Lindenwood University, which we participated in last years' preseason, also. Our opening preseason tournaments showed how much potential and talent that this team has and what kind of level of play that we are able to compete at. We are a very young team, having only 4 upperclassmen and ten underclassmen (5 freshman and 5 sophomores). 

        My experience here with Quincy Volleyball has grown more and more each year. I have been able to grow as a person, student, and an athlete because of the support and influence of the staff here at Quincy. I have developed a strong, personal relationship with my coach and with my fellow teammates. We have many activities within the team that helps bond us together. In preseason, we have 2-a-days which are about 2 1/2 to 3 hours long with about a 3 hour break in between. After practices, we are able to relax and have team bonding in the hotel that we stay at. We do many activities such as, scavenger hunts, personality characterization, and small games that let us get to know each other better and on a different, personal level. Season can bring many ups and downs and frustrating times. A challenge that you have to deal with is learning to become a stronger individual when you are faced with problems, whether it's with volleyball, school, or your personal life. Your volleyball family will always have an open mind and be willing to help you cope with anything that comes your way. That's a promise that you can be sure of. 

       As far as life outside of volleyball, it can be really hectic the first few weeks of school. You are learning to balance volleyball, school, and any outside plans. I am an Elementary Education major and a Spanish minor. I am involved in my 2nd teaching clinical, which I observe in the classroom and teach 2 lessons to the class. I go to the Elementary schools for 4-6 hours a week and classes here at QU Monday through Friday. Taking challenges that are outside of your comfort zone is something that I would recommend, they make you work harder and become a stronger student. 

       I am excited for our conference season to start this Friday and Saturday. This season is going to bring many experiences that will be beneficial to our program!! Lets Go Hawks :)

Courtney Young #6

My first couple weeks up here at QU have been a blast. Pre-season made me sore for days but once that wore off everything was way better. Staying in the hotel for pre-season was a great way for all of us girls to bond and we all got extremely close in the one week period of time. Taylor and Courtney were my roommates those few days and I’m pretty sure we never slept. Having three of the most talkative/social girls on the team together in one room made getting sleep almost impossible. I got really home sick my third week of being up here and I wouldn’t have been able to get through it with out the girls on the team. Were like a big family and everyone is there for everyone else. Once school started my free time disappeared. Between homework and practice I started getting a little stressed but now that I’m used to the busy schedule things have gotten a whole lot easier.

            We just got back on our first long road trip. I have to say that the best part of traveling is the giant tour bus we get to take. There is so much space to move around and bunks that you can just chill in. We watched tons of Grey’s Anatomy and again we were all able to bond even closer. This weekend was tough because we lost all our matches, but that just proves that we have to work harder in practice to improve our play as a team. The teams we played were good, but very beatable. We just need to push all the way through the game, from point 1 to point 25. I’m so glad I came to school here at QU. I’ve met some of the best people in the world and we have become the best of friends. Also I have acquired many new nicknames such as, Captain, Mo, Noodles, Sprinkles, Mogo, and Kentucky, just to name a few. So far my college experience has been awesome and I’m looking forward to the weeks to come.

Go Lady Hawks!

Morgan Ebner #4