TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

You are the 2001-2002 president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Who is involved in that organization and what types of functions does the SAAC have?

First, I’ll name the other members that serve in leadership roles on SAAC. Kevin Pitra (men’s soccer) is the vice president, Gabe Cagwin (men’s basketball) is our treasurer, Molly Beck (women’s crew) is the information officer, and Carrie Quinlan (women’s swimming) is our secretary.

Our committee is assembled to provide insight on student-athlete experiences at UB for input on the rules, regulations, and policies that affect student- athletes, not only on our campus but at all NCAA-member institutions. We look for improvements that can be made at UB and within our athletic department. Another responsibility is to insure that the legislation worked on by the NCAA is actually applicable to student-athletes on our campus and throughout the country.

Now, detail your duties as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

This is my first year as SAAC president. I’m there to help organize and run meetings, and to make sure that we’re getting involved in community service events. I’ve gotten involved in our Athletes-for-Athletes program, making sure that we have all athletes supporting one another. I also work closely with our student-athlete service representatives.

The president has to make sure that everything goes smoothly, and that our committee is constantly looking for improvements to be made on our campus. Then, I am in charge of reporting back to the NCAA with recommendations of what they can do for us.

Last year was your first year in which you started every match for UB. How much is that experience going to help you out this season?

When you’re out there and are pushing hard through every single game, it teaches you how to go to the max and then to even go beyond that at times. I think one of the biggest advantages of having an entire season behind me is the fact that I’ve gotten to know my hitters very well. I have a good idea as to what their strengths and weaknesses are and I can better utilize all of their talents to help the team.

Your head coach Nadine Lilavois says that you are the “team quarterback at the setter position.” Tell us in your words what the role of the setter is on a volleyball team.

The setter’s job is to run the offense. I have to distribute the ball in a way that is effective against our opponent. If I’m not up to the challenge of each match then I automatically let the team down, as well as the coaching staff. So, it’s a high-pressure position.

You have to make as if you’re always calm and collected because if you lose your cool and make your team feel that there’s something to worry about, then the team will suffer. So in a sense as a setter, at times I have to put on a little act and make the opponents think that I know what their every move is and that I will put something out there that they won’t be able to defend against.

How do you feel about the new rally scoring system implemented by the NAGWS (National Association of Girls and Women in Sports)?

With rally scoring, every single play results in a point – regardless of which team is serving. So, it makes matches much more exciting and it forces you to strive to be perfect in every way. Every single mistake that you make means that the other team is going to obtain a point. There’s no time for hesitation, you either go all out or you fall behind.

Last year’s team struggled down the stretch, but this season you got off to a good start. In what ways is this year’s team different and how much more successful will UB volleyball be?

I think our team’s biggest advantage this year is our cohesiveness. Everybody gets along extremely well on this team and we all know we can look to each other for strength and courage when we feel we are lacking that. Also, we have three new freshmen that have great defensive abilities and are excellent diggers. Two of them are extremely strong hitters, as well. They’re providing a great strength to our offense and give us a lot more options than we had last year.

Recently you moved into fifth-place on the Bulls’ all-time list in assists, and have a chance to move as high up as third by the end of your career. How much pride do you take in an individual honor like that?

I think everyone takes a certain amount of pride in their own accomplishments. But you really have to look at the definition of an assist to really understand the kind of accomplishment being talking about. When I put a ball up for a teammate it doesn’t count as an assist unless they execute and put the ball down themselves.

Volleyball is one of the most team-oriented sports around. If my teammate isn’t right there by my side performing, then my assists are non-existent. So, there’s a sense of individual pride, but I think it’s more of a case of team pride because an assist isn’t just one person’s performance.

How difficult is it to play matches on the road and still be able to keep up with your schoolwork?

I think the hardest thing about travelling is missing classes and then having to get caught up. We leave on a Thursday night when we travel, and miss all of our Friday classes. It’s difficult not only to get a professor that is cooperative with you and provides help when you need it, but it’s also hard to get together with fellow classmates to get the work that you missed and to keep on top of what you’re already doing.

The volleyball team always has a study table while we’re away. So, we may get in at one or two o’clock in the morning to the hotel room but we have to be up the next morning at nine o’clock to have breakfast. Then, we do study tables for at least two hours before we go and play a match. There’s always time that we are required to sit down with our books and study so that we’re not missing out on all the class time we lost.

Talk about the experience you had participating in the Empire State Games.

I’ve participated in the Empire Sports Games for four years, now. My first two years I played in the Women’s Scholastic Division for Long Island. We snapped Western’s long streak of winning the gold medal in volleyball, and came back to repeat as champs the following year. That was a great experience because we won, but also because I participated on that team with two players I still play with now (Heather Barfuss and Keri Shiels). We still share those memories together.

What types of community work are you involved with in the Buffalo-area?

I participate in a number of community service programs, but two of them that always stick out in my mind are the Bulls’ Bandwagon and National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

Bulls’ Bandwagon is a program that is targeted for kindergarten through third grade children. It’s aimed to teach kids about having good sportsmanship both on and off the playing field. You go and talk to young children for a couple of hours out of your day, going in as a stranger and coming out receiving hugs and being admired for being there and talking to them. All of the sudden they know what college is and now they have dreams and goals to not only to be a college athlete, but to do it with pride and good sportsmanship.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day is a national celebration that takes place every year. Here at UB we observe it by doing many things, including giving talks at local schools. We speak both to males and females, and focus on all the great things that collegiate athletes can do. We emphasize all of the opportunities that are now available to young females through athletics. We speak about the available scholarships and all of the advantages to getting involved in athletics. Another issue we discuss is how being involved in athletics affects your grades, how it affects your social life, and the general life of a student-athlete.