Interviewer: All right, thank you all for your patience. We'll close it out with volleyball. So, starting from the left and going down, we got head coach Dan Meski, fourth-year senior outside hitter Chloe Chicoine, and fifth-year senior middle blocker Hannah Sherman. So, Dan, if you want to start us off with an opening statement, and then we'll open it up for questions.
Dan Meski: That's great. Are these new mics? These are really nice. Do I got to move this or you guys hear them?
Interviewer: All right. We got to move.
Dan Meski: Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Fair enough.
Dan Meski: Thanks everybody for being here. We're really excited about the season. We just completed probably our sixth or seventh day of practice. Been going two days and been going really hard. To start the season, we're really honored to be participating in the First Serve, and we actually are the first serve of the entire year for the NCAA. We'll be playing Texas A&M up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's a huge honor to be invited to that event and to play in it. And to be able to play the defending national champ for the very first match is a huge challenge for us, but we have probably the hardest schedule that we've ever scheduled. But I think you can make the argument we have probably the best team that we've had. So, I think the schedule fits the group that we have and super competitive at a bunch of different positions.
Dan Meski: We just got done. A few of our alumni were in the gym today, so that was really fun. We got to see how we stack up against our pros, and we just can't wait for the season to start.
Interviewer: Now, I'm curious, how'd you stack up against your pros?
Dan Meski: We won four out of five, but it's hard. Sherman played great. She was playing with the pros at one point, so she dominated when she was on the pro side. And then you won, I think you won your game. It's hard because we were mixed up a bit, but we went three or four good sets against them. And Anna Deir, Claire Shay were on the outside. Jones was on the right side. Tory Diler, Tory Stringer was making her return. She had a little one. God, how old is Merritt?
Interviewer: She's got a baby about one.
Dan Meski: Not even one.
Interviewer: Not even one.
Dan Meski: So she's got an eight-month-old or something like that. So that was her first set of volleyball she had played in 16 months. So they were pretty good. But it was a good test for us. I thought we stacked up pretty well.
Interviewer: You mentioned opening with Texas A&M. How big of a motivating push is that for you as well as the players heading into this season?
Chloe Chicoine: I think it'll be a really fun game to go into, especially the first game. I think we have a lot of motivation going into that. A lot of fire from the last time we played them. So I'm really excited for it.
Hannah Sherman: Yeah. I think Texas A&M is a great team. They lost a ton of awesome seniors and reloaded well, but I'm just really excited about our roster. As Dan said, super competitive in every single position. We just have a very deep roster. So, super excited.
Interviewer: Dan, what I mean, you've had some really good, been a part of some really, really talented teams, and knowing this one is either as talented or maybe even more so. What's different about it? Is it depth? Is it competition? What's different about this squad going into it?
Dan Meski: You probably covered both of them. Definitely the depth, though. The two return so much talent from last year, but still have so many positions that are so competitive for starting spots and for big roles. I think the depth we've been able to acquire is a nod to the former teams that kind of get you on the map and help kind of get the momentum for your recruiting. And then you start to see what you have in your gym.
Dan Meski: But we just have so much depth at every position. It's been a good problem to have because forming the lineup and who's going to be out there in big moments, we're still competing for that every day. So I think you touched on both. It's the depth and it's the competition that that depth brings. It's one of our best preseasons that we've had since I've been here a decade.
Interviewer: Can you go into a little bit of how the landscape has changed with volleyball? I mean, obviously the exposure exploded a couple years ago and you're getting more and more national. You're on there 10 times or whatever on the national stage. But even the fifth year, the five, I mean, having players kind of stick around and building rosters, how has that changed maybe in the last two or three years even?
Dan Meski: Yeah. I've been doing this probably close to 20, and even if I look, it just, it's always changed. So now it just seems like there's been so much in the last two or three years, but it's constantly changing. So change is just part of the game.
Dan Meski: So, the fifth-year thing is definitely a wrinkle. We've got a great roster that we've got players planning to use their fifth year. Chloe's been locked in for that. Cam's been locked in for that. Hannah Sherman will be the last of the true redshirts. She was a redshirt for the '22 class and is her true fifth year here.
Dan Meski: But again, the game is always changing. When you talk about the exposure, I think one thing really cool about our program, there's only two matches in the regular season on ABC and Louisville's in both of them. So, we play against Kentucky. That match got flexed on a Sunday for ABC, and then our other one's against Texas in Nashville at the Broadway Block Party.
Dan Meski: So we've had that one locked in since right after we played Texas last year. ESPN got together and wanted to have that match as kind of a rematch down in Nashville. So, two matches on ABC for the entirety of the all NCAA and Louisville. We're honored to be in both of those. So the exposure is just through the roof with national TV. It's been great.
Interviewer: For all of you, that day in Nashville, football's going to be the night. You all are the early, the day kind of thing. How cool is that to be part of a day like that, you know, not here in Louisville?
Dan Meski: It's very unique. You know, it is, I think they used to call it the Hike and Spike. I know Sarah Pekovic, our chief of staff, likes to call it the Bump and Grind. But I've never been a part of that where it's volleyball, football. It's in a different location, two marquee matches, national television. I mean, it is probably one of those things we'll look back on in 10 years and say, "Man, wasn't that cool?" Like, I don't think it's something that happens all the time because there's just so many moving pieces.
Dan Meski: So, we're hoping there's four different teams coming to that Nashville tournament, but we're hoping, I mean, Louisville, we should, that whole stadium should be red or it should be black. It should be all Louisville fans because we got that football coming. It's going to be a really fun time.
Interviewer: For either Chloe or Hannah.
Chloe Chicoine: I'm just really excited to go to Nashville, too, and just have a great matchup. We went five with Texas last year, and they'll be a great team as well. I think this preseason will be awesome just to challenge us and see what we're made of and prepare us for the entire season ahead.
Hannah Sherman: Completely agree.
Interviewer: Well said, Hannah. My next, when you know, Dan, that you have talent and depth and a lot of the physical things that you're going to need. Louisville's been so good at the mental part of this. I mean, that's part of any great volleyball program. Is it something that you're just kind of ingrained in the program now in your approach? Do you tweak that every year? How do you approach that with this team that you know is really good, but how do you get that mental edge out of it?
Dan Meski: I think discipline's huge with that. And I think having great upperclassmen. I think that Chloe and Hannah are just great examples for the younger players of just how to go about your business. Like, great things don't happen by accident. You have to work hard for them.
Dan Meski: So, I think both of them had a fantastic spring, a fantastic summer, and that leads into the success that you'll see in the fall. So, they could maybe speak more towards the mental side of maybe things we've been doing or what makes them great at that. But, I do think when your upperclassmen are not only great players, but great people and leaders, that mental part starts to take care of itself. You don't feel like you have to attack it so much. It starts to become ingrained in your program like you talked about.
Chloe Chicoine: Yeah. I think we just returned a lot of our starting lineup from last year and we got to build off that. But I think all of us players can say that this has been the hardest preseason mentally and physically. So, our coaches have done a good job of really pushing us so that way when we get to the game, it feels almost easier because we have been going so hard.
Hannah Sherman: Yeah, I agree. There's a lot of competition going on in the gym right now. And I'm just excited to keep competing every single day. So, yeah.
Interviewer: Coach, you've got a team. You've got multiple players preseason All-ACC, players on the Player of the Year watch list, picked third in the ACC. With that impressive resume, talk about how difficult and challenging the ACC is going to be again this year.
Dan Meske: It's a great league. Pittsburgh, I think, has won it the last few years, and Stanford, I think, ended up getting the nod for preseason favorite. They returned a ton. Southern Methodist was great last year. Those were kind of the big four, including us, last year, but UNCC had a fantastic year and they were one of the best teams we played all last year.
Dan Meske: And then I could go on and on kind of down the list because we got some great coaches bringing in some great talent and programs that are just building. So, again, I've been here a decade and to see the growth of the ACC. Yes, we added Stanford, we added SMU, but the programs themselves have gotten so good. I feel like it really prepares us for the tournament. We've seen that with not just our success in the tournament, but the conference as a whole. It's a huge, huge advantage to be able to play in such a competitive league.
Interviewer: Hannah, how, when you have a team like this and you have a lot of folks back, a lot of veterans, what's the leadership like? I mean, I know there can never be too much leadership, but how do you guys kind of lead this team as older players?
Hannah Sherman: Well, we all talk a lot and we just really want to motivate each other, and we also let the younger players try to lead too. And I think there's just everyone is leading in their own way, and I really like how everyone pushes each other.
Interviewer: What can be different out there on the floor with this team? What are some strengths and some things that maybe last year you could have done better or whatever? What can be different about this team?
Hannah Sherman: I think we've just gotten more comfortable playing with each other, and something that we've really been harping on is kill percentage. So I think we've just been changing how we set our out-of-system ball and the hitters' mentality just to go for it in certain situations.
Hannah Sherman: I think Dan talks about how we led the conference in digs last year, and we don't want to do that again because we want to kill the ball more. So I think you'll see us kill a lot more balls and just get after it. We know how to play with one another. Our coaches have been pushing us and we're ready for this year.
Dan Meske: Digs is a very sneaky stat. If you lead in the conference in digs, it's great. You dig well, but you also rally too long. You're not killing the ball. So, we realized that last year. So, we're still going to be digging well. We just won't be rallying as long.
Interviewer: Dan, with the competition that you see with this group and the depth that you have, what does that mean for rotations? I mean, does it make it harder in the preseason or easier in the preseason that, hey, I've got all these pieces to work with?
Dan Meske: Well, it's a great challenge to have, is to have people making it really difficult to see, okay, what's the difference between these two players? What does the team really need?
Dan Meske: And honestly, today was one of the first times that we really kind of put a lineup together to play. We played against our alumni in a kind of a practice setting, and the pulse of the team was so good.
Dan Meske: A lot of times when that will happen, it'll be like, oh well, you know, that's kind of the starters or that's whoever and then I'm not going to get my shot. And there's just no semblance of that with this group, which is rare, because I think everybody kind of sees we're going to keep competing for it. There's so many people that can help us out.
Dan Meske: So, I think that is a little bit different. With last year we had so many new players that it felt like that group needed a lot of time to gel and get used to playing together, where now we've got that kind of year under our belt and all those returners, and it's kind of easier to get some people into the mix.
Dan Meske: So, I think our lineup is still very much in flux, but in a good way where we have multiple options and multiple ways to win.
Interviewer: And you're one of a five. You've been here all five years, right?
Hannah Sherman: Yes. Correct.
Interviewer: But one of the, I mean, nowadays in college sports that kind of doesn't happen anymore. What's kind of, take us through your journey and your time of year, and then Dan, if you could, once you finished, kind of talk about that and how it is, it is rare nowadays. I mean, that you stick in one place for five years.
Hannah Sherman: Well, when I first got here, I didn't know I was going to redshirt. And I remember getting asked right before our first game. And at first, I was like, "Oh, I really don't know if I want to redshirt or not." But at the end, now looking back at it, I'm really glad I did.
Hannah Sherman: So, I took that first year and really took myself and grew a lot, watched the older players a lot, and I really take pride in that now. And I'm really grateful that a lot of people get fifth years now. And I'm glad people are taking them because I think it's really valuable having a year, especially if you're not playing as much, just taking it as a year for growth and progression.
Dan Meske: Yeah, I think Hannah nailed it. And she's, I don't know if you guys know, but Hannah's from Maryland. That's an inside joke from Cam.
Dan Meske: But Hannah is kind of the epitome of how you build a great program where, yeah, you come in, you're a great decorated recruit, and it's tough to get on the court that first year and you say, "Okay, what do I have to get better at?" And Hannah did that.
Dan Meske: And when she came in, more specifically, Hannah really hadn't run the slide before, which is a big part of the offense we run here. And so, we had to break it down from scratch for her to learn to run the slide. And she took on that challenge. And now she's a very, very good slide hitter.
Dan Meske: But it took, you know, more than a day. It took a year. It took two years to do that. And to have the long-term game in mind, I think is, you know, it's not rare here, but it feels like it's rare other places and throughout the country.
Dan Meske: But again, when you have players like Hannah that stick with the program for five years, stick with the development, the players that come in, the players that come out, it's what you want in your program. So, very selfless, very giving, and the team wouldn't be the same without players like that.
Interviewer: Anything else? All right. Thank you.
Dan Meske: Thank you, everybody.
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