Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah, freshmen outside hitter Olivia Gloeckner found a perfect fit at the University of Idaho.
“Everything about it clicked for me. It was a really great place, I just felt like it was the right decision to be here,” Gloeckner said.
With 12 freshmen on this year’s Vandal volleyball team, a band of sisters has formed together to learn through victory and defeat.
“It’s been nice having so many freshmen, we are all at the same point. All kind of new, figuring things out and becoming friends pretty fast,” Gloeckner said.
This has especially been helpful in the various losses of the season. The Vandals currently stand at 4-18 overall with only one Big Sky Conference win. Having a group of teammates to rely upon can be a foundation to success, and it’s what Gloeckner is relying on as the team goes through its growing pains.
“It’s all new for me, I’ve never really played at this level and had this kind of experience and exposure,” Gloeckner said. “It’s been very different, so much to take in, so much to learn. Getting used to the schedule, getting used to playing in front of a crowd and against talented teams.”
Despite what their record shows, Gloeckner really sees improvement made by the entire team.
“We are competing with a lot of teams, taking sets off and we see lots of progress. The records have gotten better,” she said. “Earlier in the year we lost to Montana in three, but most recently, we lost to Montana in five.”
Having a lot of young players is something unique to the Vandals as there isn’t another team in the conference with more than 10 freshmen. Sacramento State and the University of Northern Colorado have the second most with seven.
“Most of us are freshmen, so it’s definitely different from other teams,” Gloeckner said. “It’s new to a lot of us. It’s cool to see us get all closer and improve together, it’s a fun experience.”
Gloeckner credits the Vandals’ improvement to new-found communication.
“We have all tried to pick up communication on and off the court, so we are all on the same page in a game, it helps a lot,” she said. “Since a lot of us are freshmen, it can get chaotic because everyone is trying to figure everything out. Communication has been key to what we want to implement on our side of the court.” It isn’t just drills and practice that help form these skills, but the bonds they form off the court as well.
“Most of us live together. We lift, we plan activities outside of the court, for a lot of us our main friends are on the team. We have all become pretty close,” Gloeckner said
Although the team is young, there is some veteran leadership that the freshmen can rely upon.
“We only have three upper classmen,” Gloeckner said. It’s been really nice to have them because they have the experience, and they have been able to show us the ropes. They are used to the schedule and everything, they are a grounding influence, and they know what to expect.”
Gloeckner went on to mention her teammate, graduate student outside hitter Allison Munday. “It’s nice to have them on the court. especially Munday, she has been killing it as a consistent player. They have the experience that the rest of the team doesn’t, So, it’s been great to have them,” she said
While this is head coach Chris Gonzalez’s first year with the UI, he brings an experienced presence to this young core of volleyball players. He is active on the sideline throughout each game.
“It’s nice how active he is and how much he cares about the game,” Gloeckner said. “He will go to bat for us, and he wants us to be the best we can be. It feels like he cares and really wants us to excel.”
The reason that Gloeckner came to Idaho goes further than bumping, setting and hitting a volleyball. She has also made bonds that could last a lifetime.
“The great thing about playing competitive sports is you have all these friends you can spend time together with,” Gloeckner said.
Isn’t that all we can really ask for?
This article has been edited to attribute quotes to the correct people.
Ricky Simmons can be reached at [email protected]