Beardown Beach, Home of Seniors Rachel Rhoades and Emily Kiser
The No. 10 ranked NCAA Arizona Wildcats Sand Volleyball team plays on newly built “Beardown Beach” located near McKale Center, one of the more fun sports to watch as you recline in your beach chair in the sand courts on campus.
Zona Zealots had the pleasure of watching our Lady Wildcats play against four other Pac-12 teams this past weekend in sunny Santa Monica California at the Pac-12 Invitational hosted by USC. The Wildcats ended No. 2 in the tournament on Saturday, and pairs Witt and Witt on Sunday lost in the finals to USC.
In case you didn’t know the rules for Sand Volleyball, they are a little different from Indoor volleyball in that the points to win are 21, not 25 points (you have to win by 2 in both.)
pac-12 networds
We would like to first thank Coach Steve Walker for allowing us to spend some special time with two of his awesome senior Sand Volleyball players. Since this is a relatively new NCAA Sport, we wanted to give you an introduction to the sport from the view of your Wildcats.
The team plays rival ASU today, and Miguel Gonzalez is there to take in all the action and will report to us what has gone down in the last week with the team.
Arizona Wildcats
I literally sat down in the sand with Seniors Sand Volleyball Wildcats Emily Kiser and Rachel Rhoades to discuss their thoughts on the sport of Sand Volleyball and their experiences on the team and at the university as they near the end of their collegiate athletic careers.
ZZ: This weekend, the two of you played Pair’s in the Pac-12 Invitations hosted by USC. When I review the results of the season, I see that this was the first time you paired up to compete. Who do you usually pair up with, why does that pairing work, and how was it to play with each other this weekend?
Rachel: The pairing works based on specialty skills, chemistry, and skill level. Often in Beach Volleyball a “Blocker” type is paired up with a “Defender”. Defenders specialize in and digging and reading hitters, Blockers specialize in taking up space at the net and can usually jump higher. In theory the defender can handle the backcourt and the blocker patrols the net. I am definitely a blocker type who wished I had the ball control of my partner! That is why I got paired up with Emily this weekend because she specializes in defending.
4-19-15 Shereen Rayan
Emily: I usually play with Olivia Mcdonald she is a freshman from New Zealand. I loved being able to play with Rachael this weekend, we have both played together for the last three years, with indoor. It was a good pairing I think because we both are really positive and communicate well together.
ZZ: Since you are both seniors, I would like to ask if you played on the indoor team as well or have you only played Sand Volleyball? If so, how does this game differ from indoor volleyball in that what do you like more or less?
Rachel: I was recruited for the University of Arizona indoor team and finished my indoor career there. It just so happened that when I was a junior in college, our school began a sand program and needed some players to help out in the inaugural season. Being from San Diego, I had played beach a little bit, and the skills are almost the same as indoor, yet the strategy and speed of the game is insanely different! High schools now are beginning to make Sand Volleyball teams due to the new Division 1 scholarship opportunities. However when I was in High school, we were not offered a sand program!
Emily: I played two years of indoor for U of A and then switch to just sand my senior year. I think sand is a completely different sport many people think it’s just like indoor, but everything you do is different. I like that in sand you can dive and throw your body out for the ball and not have to worry about injuries as much, the game though I think is a lot harder, tis more of an endurance sport.
I didn’t play sand until I came to U of A, being from Colorado I didn’t get a chance to play a lot of sand, I mostly played grass volleyball in the summer.
ZZ: What did you learn during your years at the University of Arizona as a collegiate athlete? (what did you learn about yourself and life by being a collegiate athlete, etc.)
Rachel: Being a collegiate athlete has been the most challenging thing I have ever done in my 21 years. The lives of student-athletes are so hectic! Every day we practice, lifted weights, and travel on the weekends, sometimes missing class. We are coached hard and held to a much higher standard than our training in High school. We then had to respond to the feedback by getting better and working through the adversity.
4-19-15 Shereen Rayan
I was forced to set higher expectations and goals for myself and learn how to perform under pressure. I became a disciplined, strong, goal-oriented woman. I had so much fun with my teammates who became a second family to me and lifelong friends! The strife and hard times just made us all closer and winning that much sweeter.
Emily: I learned a lot about myself in college I think it’s a time when people grow the most, being on a team always teaches you a lot of things, my coaches, teammates, and the staff surrounding volleyball, helps you grow into the person you being in college.
ZZ: What is your major, and what are your plans for the future? Do your plans include volleyball at all? If so, in what capacity?
Rachel: My Major is Psychology with a minor in Business Management and I plan to live in California after I graduate and become an academic counselor to Student-athletes. I know I will continue to play and coach and keep volleyball in my life!
Emily: My major is Global and intercultural understanding; I would like to teach young kids and would like to continue teaching volleyball to kids and coaching.
ZZ: What are you going to miss the most about your time at the University of Arizona?
Rachel: I am going to miss playing in front of a crowd in Tucson! We have an amazing group of volleyball fans in this city who have treated us all like celebrities. I am going to miss all the fame!
Emily: The second family you create here while at college is what I’m going to miss the most I think.
ZZ: How does it feel to be the pioneers of this sport Sand Volleyball at the U of A and in the NCAA in general? Are you disappointed that next year will be the first year of Division 1 NCAA Sand Volleyball Championship and you will miss it?
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Rachel: The sport of Sand Volleyball just keeps growing and kids are starting at younger ages now. I feel happy to have played when I did as the sport was growing, because I don’t think I would have been good enough to compete against the youngsters now-a-days!
Emily: I love that I was able to be a part of the first team here at U of A; I don’t think I will be disappointed about missing the year for NCAA because there is a great team here that will continue to do great things here when we are gone. I just wish I could have played sand more in college.
ZZ: What advice would you give your fellow teammates as you move on?
Rachel: I would tell my teammates to enjoy every second of college, put away money every month, and get out of their comfort zone to meet more people.
Emily: To enjoy the time you have while your here
ZZ: What would you tell Arizona Wildcat fans about why they should come out and watch your team in the future? You are playing against Arizona State at home this coming Wednesday, how are you preparing to play for your rivals?
Our fans at U of A are the best fans in the country they always are supportive and just love to watch and support all the sports at U of A
4-19-15 Shereen Rayan
And there you have it! We wish these two awesome young women much luck in their remaining time at the University of Arizona, we congratulate them on their graduation, and we thank them for their precious time to share a bit of themselves with all of us!
BEARDOWN ARIZONA!