By Jeff Kallin
CLEMSON — Alexa Rand’s development has been one of the keys to Clemson’s successful start in 2011. While she was a tremendous contributor each of her first two seasons, Rand is finally putting all phases of her game together to become one of the top middle blockers in the conference.
Clemson volleyball's Natalie Patzin. Photo by Rex Brown.
We ask student-athletes somewhere between 10-20 questions each week to find out what they are like off the playing fields at Clemson.
What are your nicknames?
Nat, Nat Rat
Describe yourself in three words.
Dedicated, loyal, and shy
Who is your favorite sideline reporter?
Clemson setter Hannah Brenner. Photo by Rex Brown.
What is different about this team than last year’s squad?
This year’s team has a lot more experience, since last year we were all mainly freshmen and sophomores. The freshmen class also brings a lot to the table. We had so much chemistry last year, but this year I feel like it is even better. This year we are running a 6-2, which is also very different from last year, and I think that it is working very effectively.
—compiled by Danielle Lester
By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON — The day of Clemson’s match against ninth-ranked Florida earlier this month, Clemson Head Coach Jolene Hoover made a tough call that has since paid off greatly for her volleyball team.
Looking for a spark in the back line of her defense, as well as getting better passes to set up her setters, Hoover decided to move junior Natalie Patzin to libero. Though it took some getting used to, Patzin’s presence on the back line has helped the Tigers win five straight matches, including Friday’s 3-0 sweep over Georgia Tech to open the ACC season.
By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON, SC — When Jolene Hoover scheduled her Clemson Tigers to play in the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational in Gainesville, FL earlier this month, she did it with the hope it would benefit her young volleyball team from a confidence and experience standpoint.
But, when the Tigers dropped three matches to Jacksonville, No. 9 Florida and No. 3 Southern Cal, she worried it might have derailed their confidence.
Clemson's Mo Simmons. Photo by Rex Brown.
By William Qualkinbush
CLEMSON — When school lets out for the summer, college athletes have an abundance of choices to make concerning how they want to spend the next few months. Some go home to relax and train in a familiar setting. Some choose to work and make a little spending money. Some stay on campus to take classes and bond with their teammates and peers.
Vollleyball's Kamryn Sherman. Photo by Rex Brown.
How has the transition been from playing high-school volleyball to playing some of the best college teams in the country?
“Well, the transition has been pretty smooth for the most part. It helps to have such awesome teammates that are helping me along the way and keeping my head on straight. The biggest difference to me is the pace of the game. In high school the game is slow and easy to adjust to. Now the game is much faster and I have to think and adjust a lot quicker.”
—compiled by Danielle Lester
Clemson's Cansu Ozdemir relishes second chance to lead. Photo by Rex Brown.
By William Qualkinbush
CLEMSON — Simply asking a student-athlete about being a “better senior” from one year to the next seems downright ridiculous. But that is the way Clemson libero Cansu Ozdemir feels about the second chance she has to end her volleyball career.
“When it’s your senior year, usually you have other seniors helping you,” she said. “But I was by myself. Now I have that experience from last year and I feel more confident helping my teammates.”
A native of Turkey, Ozdemir says the plan was for her to be back in her homeland working at this point in the calendar. But a technicality has allowed her another opportunity to be a senior, a point that has been covered ad nauseum because of its uniqueness.
