Throughout 2018 preseason camp, returning VolleyMob All-Americans, other key players and even some coaches will be giving an inside glimpse into training camp at their respective schools.
They will introduce fans to their teams, share about drills, excitement for the season and more.
VolleyMob and AVCA first team All-American libero Morgan Hentz from Stanford shares about the team’s European tour, media day fun and dinner bonding.
A 2018 Preseason All-Pac-12 selection, Hentz was a the Pac-12 Libero of the Year, an All-Pac-12 honoree and a member of the NCAA Stanford Regional All-Tournament team in 2017. The Lakeside Park, Kentucky, native averaged 4.08 digs per set and posted her 1,000th career dig. She also was one of 19 indoor players who took to the beach for the spring season, earning second team All-Pac-12 honors.
Stanford, which is ranked first in the AVCA Preseason Poll and in the VolleyMob Power Rankings, was picked to win the Pac-12 title by the league’s coaches. The Cardinal, which went 30-4 in 2017, kick off the season in Washington D.C. with matches at American and Howard on Aug. 26 and 27.
Hello! My name is Morgan Hentz and I am a junior libero for Stanford University. The team is so excited to be back on campus as we prep for the upcoming season!
This summer, our team had the unique opportunity to travel to Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy for two weeks. In that time, we practiced, played some great competition, tried new food, and toured beautiful cities and landscapes. Luckily, our two incoming freshman, Mackenzie Fidelak and Holly Campbell, were able to make the trip with us so we had the chance to get to know them better before the start of preseason!
Everyone reported on campus and moved all their belongings into the dorms August 8th. Since then, we’ve jumped right into practices. One of the goals we’ve set for this year is to increase the intensity and competitiveness of our gym, and thus far, we have done a great job of that! Practices have been challenging, but a lot of fun at the same time!
One of the team’s favorite days is media day where we get the chance to jump in front of the green screen! We are goofballs, so the finished product always makes for some interesting and entertaining content . One of the games we got to play in front of the green screen was called “Watch Ya’ Mouth,” where one person puts a mouthpiece in and tries to say a list of words to a partner. Your partner then tries to guess what that person is trying to say. I got to play the game with my teammate, Jenna Gray, and we could not stop laughing at how absurd we sounded!
After each full day of practices, our team has partner meals. Coach Hambly pairs us up with a teammate each night to go out to dinner with. This is a really nice chance to spend quality one-on-one time with one another. As a whole, our program values not just getting to know each other on the court, but off the court as well. It’s also a fun chance to get off campus and explore the food options in Palo Alto. Our teammate Blake Sharp is a Yelp expert and our go-to person for finding the best restaurants out there!
One annual tradition our team does every year in preseason is a talent show, or as this year we liked to call it a “creative show,” as most of us were researching potential talents! We went over to my teammate Kate Formico‘s lovely house for the talent show and a delicious dinner. Some of the so-called talents included eating vegetables, flag dancing, mind reading, fruit carving, and coin catching. It was definitely a night full of laughter!
All in all, our team feels super driven and motivated to make this season great. With the energy our team is bringing every day into the gym and the relentless effort that is being shown, I am looking forward to what the season will hold for us!
Go Card!
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