The 2006 Middle Tennessee volleyball season officially got its first serve of the year on Tuesday as preseason practice began at 1 p.m. in the Alumni Memorial Gym.
THE MATT PECK CODE: Head Coach Matt Peck addressed the team to start the first practice of the season. He touched on the importance of working together and how every player needs to be on the same page if the team is to be successful. Peck also told the team that there are high expectations for the club this year and every member has to accept that there will be pressure and they must deal with it. He also talked about respecting teammates and to always have a positive attitude.
TWO-A-DAY TO START: Middle Tennessee began the preseason with two practices on Tuesday. The Blue Raiders went from 1-4 p.m., broke for dinner and returned in the evening for a second practice.
THERE WERE 16 OF 17 ON THE COURT: On the first day of practice, 16 of the 17 players on the Blue Raider roster hit the court. Red-shirt freshman Katie Brush was relegated to the bike for the first day of practice.
JUST OVER TWO WEEKS: Middle Tennessee has a short preseason, as the Blue Raiders begin the season in just over two weeks. The club begins the season on August 25 when the Blue Raiders face Radford in a tournament at Appalachian State.
WHO IS IN CAMP: Middle Tennessee welcomes back 11 players from last year's 28-4 squad including five starters and the libero. The Blue Raiders have six newcomers for the season. Top returning players include senior All-American Andressa Lyra, junior Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Alicia Lemau'u, Sun Belt All-Tournament selection junior Quanshell Scott and sophomore Ashley Adams who was named AVCA National Player of the Week in 2005.
THE SMACK AWARD: Some of the hardest hit balls on day one of practice were logged in by freshman Savannah Pegg. The outside hitter tagged at least five big kills.
FRESHMEN ONLY PRACTICE: Head Coach Matt Peck has scheduled a freshmen only practice for Thursday. Peck said he wants a chance to work individually with the newcomers.
HEAD COACH MATT PECK:
"I think what we wanted to do on the first day is work on chemistry. Teach people to call for the ball and let the freshmen get used to the pace. It was kind of an orientation for the freshmen, but I think everyone did a great job. We need to do a lot of individual stuff and we plan on working on that this evening and in the next few sessions. We had a lot of intensity first day and the players were very aggressive. It was a great first session and now we have to break it down a bit and try and do something like this every day."
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