This was the last week of indoor practices as well as our last indoor tournament of spring. I must say that feeling like a senior feels I was a little sad and I had to contain my tears when we circled up and did our last weekly report of spring practices. I can’t explain exactly how I felt, but its like everything is coming to an end.

The week started as a usual week. Practice on Monday and Tuesday with early morning workouts. We were thrown a curveball when the coaches announced that we would also be practicing on Wednesday, our usual day of optional training. We handled the last minute change and practiced well. This did have a toll on our bodies since our weights have gone up significantly in the past two weeks.

This week, all the girls parted ways for SPRING BREAK! A few of us traveled home to relax and spend some much-needed time with our families and friends, while some stuck around the Tampa area to relax and get some rays! 

With two solid months of hard work in the weight room and on the volleyball court, the USF volleyball team has been keeping a steady pace of good work ethic and positive attitudes. We have been limited to two hours a week in the gym so far, but have found a way to utilize our gym time and take it upon ourselves to push and challenge each other on the court.

Workouts continued to go smooth and the team definitely felt a sense of improvement in our conditioning. Starting early Monday morning we worked on ladders, Tuesday we worked on agility drills and jumping, Wednesday and Thursday the conditioning segments were focused on endurance and speed with different types of suicides. 

  Last week was a rough one. Our conditioning and weights were changed and became more challenging. Basketball court sprints are our new thing, and I think most of us feel like dying every morning, but we help each other through it like real teammates do. And by the end of conditioning when our bodies want to fall apart, we start up weights, and somehow we manage to get through that as well.

Week three was a total success in everyone’s book. The intensity of both practices was amazing and I believe that every one of the players improved from the two short hours of practice. Going to practice this week was just the best part of every ones day and you could read that on our faces and feel it in our energy.

Even though the first day, and the first week of practices and workouts are tough, we made it through to week two. Despite the challenges of conditioning and lifting, everyone has been in high spirits, and excited about our opportunity to improve our skills and overall game.

Going into the Big East tournament, we all had stars in our eyes. A season goal had been met and we were all ready to do damage.  Coming in as the eighth seeded team in the tournament, we were ready to show people what we were made of.  The week's practice brought intensity and a sense of readiness to take on the top teams of the Big East.  We headed out on Wednesday to the bitter cold of Pittsburgh where there was plenty of snow to look at and marvel over.

Saturday we had practice and for the last hour the parents were allowed to come watch.  After practice, all the underclassmen put together some great posters and rap/rhyme/poems for the seniors.  Myself, Brittany, Marcela and Alli O had Nakia.  We made her a poster with a little letter from each of us on it saying how much we appreciated her and will miss her.  Marcela made a wonderful rap and Britt and her mom made their unforgettable ice cream cake.  Alli A, Caitlyn, Mari and Mollie made a poster for Augi.  They also put together a lovely scrapbook with letters from the whole team included.

This past weekend was one of the most exhilarating throughout the entire season. Before this weekend we were 5-7. The two teams we had to face were Seton Hall on Friday and Villanova on Sunday. It came down to these two matches. Between Seton hall and us, whoever won was going to the tournament. This weekend was parents weekend as well and as our parents started to arrive on Thursday and Friday, everyone started getting really pumped up.

Coming home yesterday was probably one of the toughest days of my life. Yeah, we made light of it by playing games on the plane, but I had a huge test to study for and we were all exhausted. On the weekend, we lost both volleyball games. We went up there to prove ourselves in the Big East and to secure our place in the tournament. I don’t know what happened.

After a blissful three week stand at home, the Bulls were finally “on the road again,” heading to face the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Louisville Cardinals. The trip was off to a fun start. Some of the girls cashed in their Bulls Bucks [a team reward system] and breaking out their jeans. As we boarded the plane, thoughts of our excellent week of practice filled our heads, giving us a sense of confidence that we haven’t always felt before games. We knew we were truly ready to take on our opponents, and whole-heartedly believed that we were going to defeat the Bearcats and the Cardinals.