Freshman Volleyball Q&A: Stephanie Riley
8/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 15, 2008
By Scott Latta, UA Media Relations
There will be five standout rookies on Alabama's Volleyball squad this fall, making up a class that PrepVolleyball.com, ranks as the 27th-best in the country, saying Alabama "added depth, versatility and athleticism" to the program.
Rolltide.com caught up with each of Alabama's new comers to see how they were getting acclimated to college life, what went into the recruiting process, and what their expectations for 2008 were.
Today we catch up with Stephanie Riley, a 5-foot-7-inch setter, who comes to Alabama from Louisville, Ky.
UA: What are you looking forward to the most about being on the team?
Stephanie: I'm really excited for the season because I'm coming off an ACL injury, so I haven't played in over five months. I have to watch the team practice together and I can't do any of it. I still have a couple more weeks until I can. I'm really excited to get out and play with the team and just play volleyball again. I just want to get stronger and prevent any more injuries and contribute to the team as much as I can.
UA: How did your family react to your college decision?
Stephanie: Honestly I don't think my dad's ever been obsessed with anything more in his life. He is the biggest Alabama fan now. He gets excited talking about it, he bought hundreds of dollars of apparel, they've already made hotel arrangements for my games, and I honestly think he's more excited than me. They're so excited and so proud.
UA: What are the main differences in playing volleyball in the SEC versus playing it in high school?
Stephanie: It's definitely a whole different level. As far as differences, I don't want to say it's more like a job because I love to do it, but it's my main focus. It's what I love to do. Everything I do here is basically geared toward getting an edge on the court, as opposed to high school where it was just a fun thing you do and you're good at it. I'm here to play volleyball and have the opportunity to come here because I play volleyball.
UA: Has it been a big adjustment to have to get up and go to class on your own every day?
Stephanie: Class really isn't that big of a deal to me. I don't really mind going to class, and I don't mind getting up early. I think the biggest change to me is getting the motivation, because I play volleyball and I go to class, to do my homework and the things I do in my free time, because there's not that much of it.
UA: Who, of the players on the team, has stepped up and taken you under her wing?
Stephanie: Sophomore Lauren Martin. She's the other setter. At first I expected there to be a little competition there because there are only two of us on the team, but there hasn't. She's been great the whole time, teaching me where the sets need to be because it's a faster pace now, and just making an effort to talk to me and hang out with me.
UA: What high school accomplishment are you most proud of?
Stephanie: Senior state championship. I went to a really highly respected volleyball school. We had a good volleyball program and went to state a lot. It was so special my senior year because it was the first time in years another school from our state beat us in the regular season and we ended up playing them again in finals and won.
UA: Have you had any "welcome to college" moments so far?
Stephanie: There was one night we all decided that we were going to go out and go to dinner and get dressed up. We have no friends, so we just decided that we were going to go to dinner because it's all we had to do. So we thought we'd find a cute local place to go to, so we drive around like, `OK, we know where we're going, let's just go downtown.' We ended up driving around for 30 or 45 minutes getting nowhere. We found nothing we wanted to eat and ended up at Qdoba which is like a minute from our dorm.
UA: Have you decided on a major?
Stephanie: I'm doing mechanical engineering. I want to make artificial limbs and organs for people.
