Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Alexa Bertsch
8/20/2019 1:52:00 PM | Volleyball
We will be posting Q&As with each of the eight newcomers on this year's Alabama volleyball team as they head into the 2019 season. Our first Q&A is with Alexa Bertsch from Lake Worth, Fla.
How did you get your start playing volleyball?
"When I was younger I always liked sports in general, but when I started playing volleyball I liked it more than anything else. I played soccer, basketball and a bunch of random ones but just liked volleyball better. It was a good team sport. Basketball was too much of a contact sport for me."
When did you realize you could potentially play at the college level?
"I started playing club when I was 12. We started doing camps and then I was probably around 13 or 14 when I thought I could carry it on to college. Once I started playing at that level and saw that playing volleyball in college was a possibility, it became a goal for me to do that."
What colleges were you looking at initially?
"I'm from Florida, so I was looking for something sort of close to home but I wanted to leave the state to get something different. I was looking at a lot of SEC schools and places in the southeast initially."
When did you first visit Alabama and what ultimately made you decide to come here?
"I think it was the summer after my freshman year. I liked the tradition. Athletics was a huge focus. Everyone was very welcoming and it seemed like a place that could be home. I knew I liked it right away but I took my time making my decision. I felt like I would have a better chance to grow here than some of the other options though."
What was your first conversation with head coach Lindsey Devine?
"Once they announced the coach, I got the chance to talk to her and all the assistants. They wanted to make a good connection with everyone and they did a good job of that. They wanted to make sure we were comfortable."
Having arrived over the summer, how has the acclimation process been so far?
"Initially it was a lot because we had some classes in the summer. It's a lot of stuff going on at once between captain's practices, classes and lifting. It was more than I was used to, but I got used to it after the first week or so. I just really focused on doing well in school and the tutors really helped with that. The tutors and our academic advisors do a great job of keeping us organized and they hold us accountable. That really helped."
Have you noticed any differences on the court from high school and club ball to college?
"The speed of the game, especially with the fast-tempo our coaching staff is implementing. Everything is very fast. The biggest thing is adjusting our timing on our hitting and our blocking."
How has the team meshed so far?
"The older girls made sure we were ready and helped us out right when we got here. They communicated with us a lot to make sure everything was fine, they helped us move in and were always there for everything we needed to do. We've all grown pretty close being around each other all the time for the last month or so. Everyone is very hard-working. We all want to do well this year and we're all really good friends."
What are some of your goals heading into the season?
"We want to have really strong blocking and we want to be consistent in our serve receive. We've been working a lot on those things and are going to continue to grow. We've had to work on hitting a higher ball to different zones, hitting the deep corners and things like that. You can't just hit it down like you could in club ball."
How excited are you to put on the uniform and compete?
"I'm excited because it's going to be a new experience for all the freshmen. It will be really cool to see the team dynamic and putting what we've practiced into play."
