Hokie Club
BLACKSBURG – The first practice of the preseason for Virginia Tech volleyball started at 6:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday and though it was very early in the morning, the pace was an up-tempo style despite the sun still rising.
The theme for the season is #FuelTheFire and the Hokies felt like they began their journey on a strong note this morning.
(8/8/2018) 2018 VOLLEYBALL OPENING PRACTICE
"I thought the pace was a different level than we had last year right away, which I'm very excited about because it shows that they have been in the gym and practicing on their own all summer," Tech head coach Jill Wilson said. "There were very few times when I had to even mention that, so I'm excited about that because that means we're going to be able to train the other things quicker once we've established that."
Wearing their new VT shirts and Nike shoes, setter Rhegan Mitchell and libero Carol Raffety were happy with how the work put in this summer transitioned into the preseason.
"I thought it went pretty good, it was a good start for us early in the season," Mitchell said. "In the past, we've kind of been slow starting off, so it was important to see us not do that. We talked about our pace and being loud, so that was great to see us execute that."
The Hokies welcomed six freshmen today, with the newcomers taking in their first practice at the college level. The newcomers include Talyn Jackson, Sarah Jane Lynch, Angel Robinson, Jennifer Williams, Tessa Wyner and Peyton Yelich.
"I think the freshmen got their jitters out," Raffety said. "It's always nerve-racking because you never know what to expect, especially with a new college coach and everything is kind of different. Our pace of the game is definitely different, so they'll start getting used to it. I think the first jitters are out and they will get the hang of it in the days to come."
Tech will be back at it this afternoon for its second practice of the day in preparation for its exhibition match against Radford next week on Aug. 16 inside Cassell Coliseum.