Alabama Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Karen Crews
8/21/2017 3:10:00 PM | Volleyball
Alabama Volleyball welcomes eight newcomers to the 2017 team and all eight will have Q&A features posted on RollTide.com heading into the season. The sixth featured newcomer is freshman Karen Crews from Dripping Springs, Texas
How did you get your start playing volleyball?
"In fourth grade I went to a camp and the coach was the high school coach. He told me I was going to be the future libero of the school and that inspired me to play. I started playing club the next year and played with the age group older than me. I played a lot of sports when I was younger but volleyball was always the favorite."
When did you start to think you could play volleyball at the college level?
"I started taking it more seriously around seventh grade. It became my main hobby, so I wanted to keep doing it for as long as I could."
When did the recruiting process start for you?
"Definitely eighth grade. I researched colleges for a long time looking at different programs and if places had the major I wanted. I was pretty open to play anywhere. I wanted to go somewhere that had a change of seasons, since it's basically always warm in Texas. We don't really get a winter there so I'm hoping to maybe see a little snow for a change. I know Alabama got some last year."
When did Alabama come into the picture?
"Alabama was one of the later schools I was looking at. My sophomore year, I went to Florida for nationals so I stopped at different campuses along the way and Alabama was one of those. It was really pretty so that's when I first saw it. I went to a camp last summer and everyone was so nice to me. It's a great environment to be in, both with the coaches and the players.
"It clicked pretty quickly that Alabama was the right place for me. I committed about a week and a half after that camp."
How has the transition been coming to Alabama now that you've been here for over half a year?
"It's been pretty good. I travel a lot so I went to Europe this summer by myself and got back home the day before I was supposed to move here. I'm used to being responsible for myself so that wasn't a big deal but I think I've adjusted pretty well."
Has there been an adjustment on the court to the pace or play style of college volleyball vs. high school or club?
"Everyone is definitely much bigger than any of the club teams I've played for or against. The players that are better than me are able to help me learn. It's really fun."
Looking ahead to the fall, what are some of your goals for the fall?
"I'm a freshman so I don't expect too much individually, but I want people to respect me on the court. I came here for a reason. I want to do well in my classes because I have a heavy course load. I have engineering, physics and calculus to take - public speaking too, which is almost scarier than the other ones."
What advice would you give to a high school player who wants to play in college?
"For recruiting, you have to put yourself out there to get what you want. There aren't enough players out there that are so good that coaches will come out to specifically watch them. You have to reach out directly and do it a lot for them to take you seriously. The coaches get a lot of emails from every position so you have to set yourself apart. Send video links too."
