Aug. 8, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The buzz surrounding the 2008 UCF volleyball season was felt Friday when the Knights opened their preseason camp with their first open-interview session with the central-Florida area media.
During the interview session, members of the volleyball squad discussed the aura associated with its upcoming season, the opening of The Venue at UCF and its home-opener against No. 2 Stanford, among other things.
First-year head coach Todd Dagenais opened the interview session with his thoughts on the opening of preseason camp and what he plans to do with the squad during camp.
"Since (the coaching staff) came aboard in mid-January, this day is really something that we have been focusing on. The student-athletes have worked very hard this summer to put themselves in a position to give us the best opportunity to get better in the preseason. So it is exciting that this day is finally here. The preseason gets to start and now we really get to work on tying to get good starting tomorrow."
"The challenge right away is going to be the mix of people that we have. We have eight returning players and we have eight brand-new players, so goal number one is going to be to put ourselves in a position to get to know each other better. We can't really achieve everything on the floor until we get that taken care of. Once we get everyone on the same page, then we are going to have to go through and improve our skill-set. Once we improve our skill-set, then we can get into the team relm and work on our offensive and defensive systems. It's going to be a pretty busy preseason for us."
Junior Erin Campbell (Kansas City, Mo.) perfectly summed up the team's feelings about the excitement surrounding the season to wrap up the interview session.
"I don't know if you can feel if right now, but I'm just sitting here and listening to (Coach Dagenais) talk and I'm just ready to put my kneepads on and go out on the floor, and I think that it comes from him. He inspires all of us to be the best that we can be and so it affects every single person differently. He puts a magnifying glass to you and brings the energy out of you. I am shaking right now, I am so excited. I just want to go and play. We all have a sense that we are here to do this right now and we are here to take advantage of the opportunity that we have been given in the last six or seven months. I feel down sometimes, but when I look at everyone else's faces I feel like it's go time. We are all so anxious and excited for it that it is just ridiculous."
The Knights will begin their preseason camp Saturday morning at The Venue.
Season tickets for UCF's 2008 volleyball campaign at The Venue are currently available by calling the UCF athletics ticket office at 407-UCF-1000. The Knights open the 2008 season Aug. 29 at the Georgia Southern Invitational, before opening The Venue against No. 2 Stanford on Sept. 2. For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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