Alabama Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Ginger Perinar
8/23/2017 3:09:00 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 eighth featured newcomer is sophomore Southern Illinois transfer Ginger Perinar from Channahon, Ill.
How did you get your start playing volleyball?
"My sister Stacy is four years older than me and she started playing so, as most siblings do, I idolized her and wanted to follow in her footsteps. My three sisters, my brother and I each ended up playing volleyball in the end. I started with a club when I was around 11 and stuck with it since then. All of us ended up playing volleyball in college and my youngest sister is a senior in high school and will be playing at Tennessee."
When did you start to think you could play volleyball at the college level?
"Seeing my sister be so successful in the sport made me have the same expectations for myself. I wanted to go above and beyond and just keep working hard for that goal. I got my first letter when I was in eighth grade so that just gets you excited to work even harder."
When did the recruiting process start for you and what kind of schools were you looking at?
"I was kind of all over the place. As I started looking and visiting the schools further away, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be that far from home. I ended up at Southern Illinois and once I got to school, I realized you didn't have time to visit home anyway. I wasn't too worried about the distance when I decided to transfer."
Did your process of looking at schools change the second time around or was it similar?
"One thing that stayed the same was that I really focused on the head coach and their coaching philosophy. I really respected my coach at Southern Illinois but he left so that's why I was looking to transfer. When I came here, Coach [Ed] Allen was very honest from the start and laid out his expectations right away. I liked the way he talked about the team and the coaching staff. It showed a lot about who he was and he was someone I really wanted to play for."
Did you know much about Alabama before visiting or talking with Coach Allen?
"My sister's best friend Madison Angus was planning on coming here, but she got in an accident and passed away. Alabama honored her and was very respectful to her family and ended up awarding her an honorary diploma. I thought that was great of the school to do that. Her family are huge Alabama fans so when I was looking here they were excited and when I ended up committing they were blown away. That played a big part and gave me a lot of motivation to do great things here."
What were your first impressions when you visited the campus?
"The big white pillars were the first thing I noticed, they're everywhere! It's a beautiful campus, everything was clean and beautiful. The coaches were very organized and when they showed me around it was a very quick process. The weather was awesome, a lot warmer than it is back north. The campus looked big but once I toured it around, it looked like what I imagined college would be like and I fell in love with it."
Did you know right away that you wanted to come here or did the decision take some time?
"My dad came with me and we talked during the downtime we had on the trip. I felt like this was the place but we wanted to stay open-minded and not rush the decision. It was a quick process because I was looking in the summer and I would have to be on campus about 10 days after my visit. I knew if I wanted to do this I had to do it soon. It was a long drive back home and we had a lot of time to talk and I decided then I would commit, so I ended up calling Coach Allen on the drive home. He was really excited and I went home, packed up all my stuff, said my goodbyes and came back to Tuscaloosa. My summer break was about seven days long."
How has the transition been coming to Alabama now that you've been here for over half a year?
"I wasn't really sure what to expect because when I visited none of the girls were on campus yet. My old roommate at SIU is best friends with Hayley [McSparin] and had nothing but good things to say about her. I got to know her and a lot of the other girls more personally and I loved it right away. I didn't have a car so they were good about giving me rides and things like that. I felt welcomed from the start and I'm really happy with the decision that I've made."
Does having a year of college as a student-athlete at SIU make the transition to Alabama a little easier because you already have some experience?
"I understand the scheduling and time management side of things since I already went through that at SIU. It's just about creating a balance and prioritizing what you need to do. There's little things that matter and others that don't so I think having that year has helped."
Looking ahead to the fall, what are some of your goals for the fall?
"I want to be able to make an impact on the team in whatever way they need me. I know we want to be successful and win championships. When things get hard, the older girls push us with those goals in mind as motivation and a little drive. We have big expectations."
What advice would you give to a high school player who wants to play in college?
"Put your name out there. Don't be afraid to send emails or make videos. You can't expect coaches to come to you all the time. Keep pushing because there's so much room to grow with skill, height or whatever. Coaches look at your attitude as well so stay positive."
