University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Samedy Shares Her USA Volleyball Experience
6/7/2018 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Gopher volleyball standout Stephanie Samedy has had a busy month since finishing her freshman year of college. After ending her classes in early May, the Clermont, Fl., native traded in her maroon and gold for red, white and blue, to compete with USA Volleyball's Collegiate National Team. Competing on a 10-day trip from May 20-31, Samedy and the rest of the CNT-China Tour went 4-1 during competition. Samedy returns to the Gophers squad after a breakout freshman season. The First Team All-American and unanimous All Big Ten selection, Samedy and the Gophers are ready to begin the 2018 season this August at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Read more about her experience here.
Gophersports: What was it like to travel with the Collegiate National Team and wear the USA jersey? Stephanie Samedy: To be able to travel with the collegiate national team and wear that jersey was truly something special and an experience of a lifetime. To know that I was with a group of talented players and could represent our country is an experience that I'm greatful for, and honored to have had the opportunity to be apart of.
GS: Playing both collegiate and international volleyball within the season, what were the similarities and differences among the two?
SS: I think the biggest difference would be that internationally they tend to play more of the mental game by outsmarting opponents and hitting with range as opposed to just going for the big kill that I think is more common in collegiate volleyball. But besides that it is still the same game of volleyball that we enjoy playing.
GS: Were you able to adapt and play with a group you hadn't normally played with before?
SS: Because I went into this knowing that in order to adapt to a new team would mean we would have to over communicate, allowed for the transition to be pretty smooth. And the fact that we all understood that we came from different programs and systems allowed us to be open to feedback and have real conversations to make sure we were all on the same page about the USA system we were playing.
GS: What was your favorite part of the trip, both on and off the court?
SS: My favorite parts of the trip on the court would be the challenge of us players having to come together and preform as a team at such a high level and knowing that we're doing it to represent. USA.
Off the court, I would say just being able to see different parts of China and how they all vary from each other and from the States was eye opening. Along with being able to learn and experience an entirely different culture from the food we ate to the different places we visited like Great Wall.
GS: How does an experience like this help you for the 2018 season?
SS: This experience has helped prepare me for the 2018 season by reminding me that there's still so much to learn in volleyball and there's so much room for improvement before the season starts. And knowing that gets me excited to get back in the gym and continue to develop my game as well as share what I've learned with the team and use it to help us grow as a team.