BSU Volleyball Looking to Rise Up

The Beavers are coming off a disappointing 3-26 season, and winless in the conference, where they know they didn’t play up to their standards.

“We did not have the season we wanted to have last year; we’ve got a lot to prove,” says head coach Kevin Ulmer. “We’re still a young team but we’re growing and developing.”

They graduated no seniors last year, which allowed the team to jump right back into the swing of things.

“We’ve all been here, we know the game, we know the conference,” says junior middle blocker Julie Touchett. “We have the core group and it’s been consistent because we haven’t had seniors.”

“Our team chemistry is awesome,” says junior libero Emma Hallmann. “It’s awesome to have everyone back here and just building new relationships with the freshmen.”

Everyone being back, plus the new freshmen, means there’s a lot of mouths to feed, and playing time is at a premium.

“We’re all pushing each other to be the best,” says Hallmann. “I think this is the best competition we’ve had my three years here, and it’s awesome to see that. Everyone’s fighting for a starting spot, for playing time, and it’s awesome to see.”

The team’s motto of “rise up” is motivating them to stay consistent and perform to the top of their abilities no matter what.

“There were times where we would play really well in the beginning and kind of fall off at the end,” says Hallmann. “Our goal this year is to rise up and rise up to every single occasion that comes and be ready for anything that’s thrown at us.”

“We’ve really been focusing on shaking it off and not letting one point, or one day, or one situation really ruin your day, or ruin that practice, or game, or the mood,” says Touchett. “So rising up to the occasion, and we can only go up from here.”