1. What fuels your motivation?

Most of all, a big, roaring crowd really fuels me. I love the beach, seeing the ocean, being sandy and caked in sun screen. Of course, I’m amped to play ball when I hear One Direction booming from center court. Another motivation to qualify is that the AVP player tents have Xbox AND foam rollers.

2. When you were a junior player pursuing beach volleyball, how did you go through the process of recruitment for college?

I always thought I’d play 4 years of collegiate indoor and then eventually find my way out to the beach. As a junior in high school in 2009-10, collegiate beach was still very much up in the air. Consequently, I visited the Nebraska, Stanford, USC, and UW indoor programs. At the age of 17, the process was a little overwhelming. It was kind of scary calling the big time coaches, but they turned out to be super cool.

3. What have you changed about your training routine for this year to make sure that you are continually getting better?

I’m now living in Huntington Beach which has been fantastic. Rolling right out of bed and onto the court makes me want to play even more. Also, Emily and I have a coach this year! Tyler Hildebrand...he’s the man. It will be nice not having to scope out strangers at tournaments to serve us before games.

4. What do you think is the most important thing for an aspiring AVP player to have in mind when training and playing?

Get sandy. Continue to play a lot, bump inside and outside of your house, and bug anyone you can find to play. Also, enter as many tournaments as you can because playing actual competition is the best.

5. How do you remain so calm on the court? Any tips on how to keep your emotions in check?

Me, calm? I guess, that’s just me. I never took a class on calmness or anything. When I goof up, though, I find staring out at the ocean just for a few seconds helps. Also, praying is a great go to.