University of Minnesota Athletics
Tapp Takes Talents to World University Games
7/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Written by Rachel Timmerman, Athletics Communication student intern
In her first trip abroad with USA Volleyball, junior Paige Tapp traveled to South Korea this July to represent the U.S. in the Women's World University Games.
Tapp was selected after tryouts earlier this year at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., along with an invitation-only training block in Anaheim, Calif. She was also one of eight NCAA All-Americans on the 12-person roster.
Players trained in Los Angeles for one night before flying straight to South Korea. But before arriving at the games, the team didn't get time to train together.
"Most of the teams we played, they'd been training together, this was like their fifth tournament playing together, and we kinda just showed up," Tapp said, "which was tough, especially for volleyball which really deals a lot with chemistry."
It took the team a few days to get into the swing of things, but the players bonded quickly.
"I clicked with everyone on the team, they're so awesome," Tapp said.
The women's team also traveled with the U.S. men's team, gaining a fan following at their games.
"We went through the whole process with [the men's team]. We would go and watch their games and they'd come to ours. I hadn't really seen men's volleyball a ton so it was fun."
The U.S. players traveled to Seoul to sightsee, but spent the majority of their time in the athlete village in Gwangju.
"The entire town was dedicated to the games, it kinda felt like a mini Olympics," Tapp said.
Though the team had the chance to experience the culture of a different country, playing was their main focus.
"It was a lot of playing. Which I'm not complaining about because that was the fun stuff."
Playing against some of the best players from their respective countries, Tapp and the U.S. team learned a lot about different styles of play.
"Our pool was really tough, so it was very eye opening," Tapp said. "They have much lower errors than us. We can jump high and hit hard but they're just very smart and keep it in the court a lot more. It's hard to adjust, the rallies would go on forever.
Tapp also had to adjust to a strong defense on the other side of the court.
"They're so good at defense. The Japanese team and Brazil, their liberos are unreal. Balls that would usually hit the ground, they would pick up. You would have the best kill of your life and it's up."
In addition to developing her playing skills abroad, Tapp also learned how to be a stronger leader from the older players on the team.
"I was playing with a bunch of players who have graduated college and have been the best players at their university," Tapp said. "It was nice to see how hard they work. Even at practice they take everything so seriously. I think that's something I can bring back to the team."
